


The Boy With A Metal Heart

by KatTheRandomWriter



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: M/M, Robot/Human Relationships, Robots, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 37,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatTheRandomWriter/pseuds/KatTheRandomWriter
Summary: "Hey...Are you okay?"Systems rebooting.An AU in which Hajime is a robot who wakes up in the house of Nagito Komaeda, the son of the chief of the village he's in. He pretends to be a regular person while hiding his true intentions. (Kind of a crossover between modern technology and Japanese olden days but like whateves)





	1. Chapter 1

_Running. Running. I kept running, never looking back._

_The sounds of shouting and gunshots rang out, but I still ran, deep into the forest._

_I was exhausted, I had no more energy left, my body's been completely bashed up, my legs rattled and shook, as if they were going to break apart at any second, which I'm sure they would._

_**Warning!! Warning!! Major systems damaged!! Battery is dangerously low!! Emergency! Seek help immediately!!** _

_"There's no one here... I can't be fixed... I can't be helped... Well, it was a logical conclusion that I'd be deleted soon anyways."_

_**Commencing emergency shutdown sequence!!!** _

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_**Systems have been repaired by an unknown force. Energy recharged. All systems are fully operational. Systems rebooting.** _

_"Hey... Are you okay?"_

I sat up. I'm in a bed, in front of me is a boy. Preferably about teenager age. He had white hair that stuck out almost everywhere, logic doesn't seem to apply there. He had dark green, or was it grey? Eyes and he was staring at me. Is that relief I see?

"Thank goodness... I thought you were a goner. How're you feeling?" He asked.

Feeling? What does that mean? Is he asking if my systems are fully functional? If so, perhaps I should say yes?

I nodded slowly. He sighed, audibly in relief.

"Um... You must be pretty confused, so I'll introduce myself!" He stepped back, smiling. Is that his way of trying to greet me?

"My name's Nagito Komaeda! I'm 16 and uh... Welcome to my house??" A rather suspicious introduction, especially since I have no data or memories of him in my database up until now. "I found you lying on the ground in the forest, you seemed pretty beaten up so I bought you here! I'm glad you seem better now!" He keeps smiling like that... Hmm.... "Um.. Anyways..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Aren't you gonna tell me your name? Wait, maybe I'm being too direct um..." He was mumbling to himself, how curious. 

"Hajime Hinata. 16 years old." I said. That IS my personal database information. "Ah. I see, nice to meet you Hinata-kun!" Hinata-kun? Is that how he'll be referring to me? Should I refer to him in the same way? No. That's too suspicious. But perhaps...

"If you're calling me that, may I call you Komaeda?" His eyes widened and his face turned red. Hm, not quite the reaction I was expecting. "W-Well... I-I-I guess you can..." Huh. I suppose that's settled then. I stood up immediately. "H-Hey-! You shouldn't get up so fast! You still need to rest!" He pushed me back down on the bed I was previously lying on. I looked at him. "Why do I need to rest anymore? My batteries are fully recharged." I simply said. "You might feel that way but your body might still be weak!" He retorted back. 

Feel? I know my batteries are recharged. The information is all here in my database. There is no need to 'feel'. I shoved him away and walked out of the house. When I scanned the area, it seemed like a traditional Japanese village in the autumn, people walking around, going about their days. "Hinata-kun!!!" Komaeda. "You can't just leave the house like that!!" He yelled in my face. "And why is that?" I asked. "W-Well-!" "Don't say what I can or can't do if you have no reasons." I said and continued to look around.

This area... I seem to recall something similar to this.

"Computer, search through all past databases for anything similar to this area." I whispered extremely quietly.

_**Affirmative. There seems to be one file containing this, however, there is a risk of opening it. Proceed anyway?** _

"Yes."

Just then, my memory card began to form a shattered video file, the experience was long and hard to process, but I got a strange image. It was a figure, I couldn't analyze their face clearly, but I could tell that they were grinning. They were holding a picture of the exact same village I was in right now to my face in the video. Their mouth opened, and a scratched voice message rang out in my head.

"El..mina...th...villa..e.'s ch...f...on..."

I really couldn't understand the message at all, it was too glitched, I had to close the file. "Well that was pointless. But now I know that I know this place from somewhere." I thought. "Hinata-kun?" I blinked. Komaeda was waving his hand in front of my face. "Helloooo~???" "What." "Ah I thought you broke for a moment, glad you've gotten your head back on earth." He laughed. Was that supposed to be a joke? He seems horrible at it.

"Komeada, where are we?" I asked. I wanted to at least know our location since I know nothing else. 

"We're in my home village. It's one of the few that still hasn't been 'modernized' jeez... I hate those robots, if I ever saw an evil one, I'd crush it to bits!!!"

I twitched. His tone. He was serious. That's a problem.

_"I'm a robot. Does that mean I have to pretend? If this is one of the few surviving villages as Komaeda says, no doubt there'd be a lot of people who hates robots like me as well. This is bad..."_

"I-I see... Care to show me around perhaps?" Attempt to change subject and draw suspicions off me, though I suppose I took a risk of exposing myself. "Hmm... Sure! I don't mind!" With that, he grabbed my arm and dragged me off.

*After a while*

"And this is my dad's house!!" Komaeda announced, spreading his arms at the HUGE house we were standing in front of. "Are you surprised? Many people are usually." I didn't respond and merely scanned the house. "Um... Hinata-kun?" "Yes?" "Wow! You're one of the first to not be surprised at the house! Do you have high standards?" I looked at him. "Standards?" "Have you seen better houses before? Tell me please!!" He kept pressing forward, it was getting harder to analyze all my options for a good answer.

"N-Not as far as I remember... And no, I don't have high standards it's just...." I was scanning through my options, this was not good.

"It's...hard for me to be surprised...?"

That seemed like the best choice, but it carried a huge risk.

"Hmm... I see, well, this village is very beautiful! I'm sure I'll surprise you sooner or later!!" He said, still so cheerful, somehow. 

"Beautiful? How will I know that?" He stared at me. "Well I- Can't you tell for yourself? Don't you have your own tastes? You know, what you like and what you dislike and stuff." He seemed nervous and anxious. Was it my question perhaps? "I don't have tastes." I said. Shit. I might have gave away too much. "Wha-?! Well... Maybe you just have a specific range you haven't seen yet! It's okay! I'm sure we'll find it!"

I looked at Komaeda.

What is wrong with him? It's almost as if he's desperate to get close to me... Does he already know? It's too difficult to tell at the moment, but I must remember to stay cautious at all times from now on.

After all...

_I am Hajime Hinata, a robot with no feelings or memory. I don't know who my creator is, nor what my objective of being in this village is. I must hide my identity from anyone and everyone._


	2. Chapter 2

Hajime's p.o.v.

The sun was starting to set, and it was starting to get colder. "It's getting dark, shouldn't you be getting home?" Komaeda looked over at me. "I think you should go back to your house." I said. He stared at me. "Where are you going to sleep?" I stared at him. "Um..." "Come on, I have a spare room in my house!" He grabbed my hand and dragged me off back to his house, where I woke up earlier.

"I don't see a spare room..." I said. "Of course you don't! Check this out!" He suddenly kicked a wall, but that part of the wall was actually a button and a panel of stairs unfolded from the ceiling. I was standing right underneath the unfolding stairs and jumped backwards, evading it. "Oh! I forgot to warn you about that! Wow, you have fast reflexes..." He commented. Oh no, is he getting suspicious? "Uh... Yeah... I guess so..." I said. There wasn't any options on how I could reduce his suspicions, if he had any. But I couldn't risk it, so I had to at least answer something, just moderately.

"Come on!" He gestured me over and I climbed up the stairs with him. When we got to the hidden upper room. I scanned it thoroughly. It seems that it used to be an attic. There was quite a bit of room, a simple bed and a window where I could see sunlight. "I cleaned it recently, so you can sleep here! There's not much dust here so...!" I simply nodded and went inside to further investigate the area. "How curious... I didn't pick up on this room... It seems he's good at hiding things. Be it whether or not he knows about me." I thought.

I slumped down on the bed. "Check the systems." I ordered.

**Affirmative. Battery level is currently at 20%. Do you wish to use backup battery?**

"No." I responded. I looked outside the window. "It appears to be night time now..." I bent down and pressed my ear against the floor. There was only silence, except a very quiet snoring sound. Seems as though Komaeda's asleep. I should go explore the rest of the village. Discover new hidden areas, fill up my database and so on. I opened the window and looked down.

I can't take fall damage, but if I were to just jump down from here, the impact from the ground may cause a dent, and that would be bad if people found it. So I looked over and spotted another window with a ledge, it seems wide enough for me to land on, or at least grab onto with my hands. I hopped onto the ledge and swiftly jumped right onto the lower ledge and on the ground. "Easy." I thought.

I looked around the place. "It's basically just a normal Japanese village... I wonder how it survived the robot invasions. I haven't come across anyone here that would be strong enough to take on robots. But then again, is there any human out there who can take on robots?" I sat down on a patch of green grass and looked up at the full moon.

Right at that moment, my system began to glitch out, going crazy, EVERYTHING. I held my head, trying to make it stop.

**WARNING! An unknown source is attempting to take over the system, currently trying to remove it.**

"Well do it quickly!!!" I yelled. The area around me began to change color and the scenery was shifting. "I have to get back." I thought and got up, stumbling around because of how disorientated my view was. "God!!!" I winced. After a while, the errors and bleeping warning sounds subsided and my vision returned to normal. "That was intense..." I shook my head. 

**The system has been able to temporarily remove the threat, however, there is a risk of it returning once more. Advisable to seek help to improve the system's security.**

I sighed. I can't look for help because I can't let anyone know that I'm a robot. I can't do or say anything that would trigger suspicions. I climbed up on the ledge and leaped up, grabbing the other window ledge with my hands and heaved myself up. "Battery check." I said.

**Battery is now at 10%. Use backup power?**

"No." I slumped on the bed. I recharge by 'sleeping' like a regular person. Advanced robots have unlimited power source, but seeing as how I have to do things like a normal person, I suppose I'm supposed to be a kind of replica of a human? Perhaps a cyborg with intentions of studying a human's behavior and habits? There is still room for doubts that I must cover up sooner or later if I want to know who I am, or what my objective is. All I remember was running and then ending up in this village, that I know I have involvement in.

_"Why was I running? What was I running away from? Why are my systems made the way they are? Why do I have data regarding this village, yet no actual memory? Who was the person in that video file? Why and how is this village not colonized yet?"_

Why the hell is my systems projecting so many questions? Stop that.

I bonked my head, getting the processing system to stop. I sighed to myself and closed my eyes. 

_"What awaits me in the future I wonder...."_

*Next day*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I woke up, stretching and yawning. "Ah~ Another day, another time to go around!" I thought, smiling. I got up, going to wash up. When I was done, I kicked the secret panel and went up the stairs. "Hinata-kun~" I sang, popping into his room, he was sleeping on his side, turned away from me.

"Hinata-kun! Time to get up!" I said, shaking him. Instantly, he shot up like a spring, making me squeak in surprise. He turned to me. "What?" "U-Um... It's time to wake up... You should go get ready... Do you need a change of clothes?" I asked. He looked down at himself. "....Yes." "Okay then! I'll go see if I can find any clothes for you!" I went off to look.

Eventually, I found a nice set of white and green clothes for him. I ran up the stairs with the clothes. "Here! I found some clothes that might fit you!" I said. "Okay. Hmm... They seem to fit me." He started to take off his shirt right in front of me. "H-Hey-! D-Don't-!" I looked away, blushing furiously. "What? We're the same gender so I don't see anything wrong with it." "I-! Whatever!" I tossed the clothes at him and ran off. "BYE!" I shouted as I went.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared at the stairway where Komaeda had run out of and raised an eyebrow. 

_"Weird..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/327243690-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-2


	3. Chapter 3

Nagito's p.o.v.

I waited patiently for Hinata-kun, but I couldn't wipe the blush from my face. I can't believe he did that! Has he no shame at all?! I groaned. But... He did make a point... There isn't supposed to be any shame of someone of the same gender stripping right in front of you...

"Arghhh!!!!" I hit my head repeatedly before I heard footsteps come down the hidden stairs and stopped. "Are you done Hinata-kun?" I said, trying to sound normal. "Yes." "Great! Come on, I wanna show you something!" I pulled him along to my favorite spot. "I'm gonna hang out with him the best I can!" I thought to myself, determined.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared blankly as Komaeda pulled me around. My systems had already adjusted to his actions. "Where are we going?" I asked. "To my favorite place in this village!" He said, smiling cheerfully. Does he like it that much? There's no place in my database that can process what kind of scenery he'd like, but then again, it could just be that he likes every type of scenery. 

Eventually, he came to a fast halt, making me look up. "What?" "Before we arrive, I want you to close your eyes for me!" I raised an eyebrow at that. "Why?" "Pleaseee~ Just this once!" I rolled my eyes and closed them. Komaeda then pulled me along again. After a little while, I heard a noise.

_"Okay! You can open your eyes now!!"_

I opened them and scanned the area before me. It was a big lake along with grass and dozens of blooming flowers. 

"....Is this what you wanted to show me...?" Komaeda stared at me. "A-Are you...disappointed...?"

Shit.

"This is the first time I've been asked this question, do I lie or not?" I saw tears start to form from the corner of his eyes and looked away. 

"It's a 50-50 chance but..." I looked over at him. "I don't know how to answer that kind of question since I don't feel disappointed or impressed! But... Since he's a human, and I have to build a good relationship with him to draw off suspicions... I suppose I should at least say something positive..."

"N-No... Its not that... It is pretty nice..." I tried to sound as believable as possible by using data from audio files that I have.

Komaeda's eyes brightened up. "Really??" I could only manage a nod. "Ah... What a relief! Here!" He handed me a long stick thing. I scanned it. A...fishing rod...? What? "Uh... Why do I have a fishing rod?" I asked. Komaeda laughed. "Because we're fishing silly! This place has fresh air, a relaxing vibe, and TONS of fishies!!" He yelled, spreading his hands out wide. "Here! I'll show you how it works!" He took the rod from me.

"First, you put the bait." Suddenly, he took out a squirming worm and held it to my face. I didn't react. "Wow! So you aren't afraid of worms?" "Why would I be?" "Well, most people are anyways." He looked straight again. "Then, you put it on the hook and....!" He lashed the rod out, the string flying with a 'PLOP!' Into the water. "And now we wait." He sat down next to me, rod in hand. Komaeda was still smiling.

"What's the point in fishing?" I said aloud. As soon as I processed what I said, I clamped my mouth shut. "Crap." Komaeda sighed. "Well, people fish for different reasons. As for me, I'm trying to show you how to fish and try to have fun with you but..." His voice faded. I looked at him. "...Sorry...It's...hard to explain..." I said. I should at least apologize since I seemed to have made him upset. He shook his head. "No no, I'm fine. Now, where was I...Oh yes! Well, some people fish to sell and earn money, others do it to eat the fishes they catch! Some have even said they fish to observe and research the fish. Some do it for relaxation, there's so many!!" He seems enthusiastic talking about this.

"You seem to like talking about fishing." I commented. "Huh? Oh, actually, I just like to talk about human nature! It's so interesting and mysterious! There's nothing else like it in the world!" His smile just seemed to get bigger and bigger, I wonder if it hurts.

"And then-" Suddenly, we were interrupted by something tugging on the line. "Huh? Oh! We got one we got one! Now this is where you pay attention!" He grabbed onto the rod. "Don't pull it straightaway, let the fish swallow the bait, and then..!" He started pulling hard on the rod, but he was only moving closer to the water. "Argh-!! This one is HUGE!!!" He struggled. I stared at him and sighed, standing up.

"Give it to me." "Huh?" "I said give it to me." "U-Um..." Komaeda awkwardly and struggled to hand me the rod, I took it in one hand. 

"Honestly... Must I do everything?"

Using only one hand, I swiftly pulled the rod up, the entire line flying upwards, along with a huge carp fish. Komaeda gaped. "Oh my God.... This fish is MASSIVE!!! How'd you tug it out so fast and easily?!?" Komaeda exclaimed, running over to pick up the fish. "Hehe, I've done this before. All you have to do is-" I froze.

_Wait... I've done this before? When?_

**ERROR!! ERROR!! Intru5ive v1d30 not- Not- 0010011100!!!**

_"You see this? This is how you fish!" The shadowed man_ _in front of me said, holding up a big fish._

_"....I don't understand. What's the point in fishing?" I heard myself say._

_"Well... I didn't expect you to understand... You can't process human's line of thoughts very well." The man sighed._

_I tilted my head at him._

_"...I don't understand humans huh...."_

**KSSSSSHHHHH!!!!! Sy5stems restor1ng... Systems have been successfully restored. Save error files?**

My head was spinning uncontrollably. But I still nodded. "Yes, save it." I managed to say. "Hinata-kun? Are you okay?" Komaeda was shaking my shoulder lightly. He had a worried expression on his face. I shook my head to get rid of the feeling. "Yeah... I'm fine." "Come on, we're going to my friend's house!" "Why?" "To have a feast on this huge fish!" He pulled me along.

_"....Who was that guy...? Is he important to my past...?"_

Questions rambled through my mind as I tried to put the pieces together, but to no avail. Eventually, we reached a rather big house. Komaeda knocked on the door while yelling. "Hey!! Fuyuhiko open up!!! It's me Nagito!!!!!" At once, the door slammed open, but I didn't see anyone, that is, until I tilted my head downwards and saw an extremely short boy with blonde hair. "Why the fuck are you yelling on my doo- What the fuck?!?!?" He pointed in shock at the big fish while Komaeda smirked.

_"We're having a feast baby gansta."_

The shorter one seemed angry at that statement and yelled at Komaeda. I stared blankly at the ground.

_"....Who made me...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/328067027-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-3


	4. Chapter 4

Hajime's p.o.v.

This is...strange...

I was sitting at a table with a whole bunch of strangers and Komaeda and we were eating the gigantic fish me and him caught earlier. He claims that they're all his friends but I'm still questioning why he has such bizarre friends. What are friends anyways?

Even though I had to eat like a regular person for energy, I didn't need to eat that much since I could just run on stored energy. I looked around the room and stared at all the people sitting at the table. They all introduced themselves earlier, so I decided to scan through their names, appearances and behavior.

A total of 10 people, excluding me and Komaeda.

There was a girl with short pink hair, I remember she was called Chiaki Nanami. She was talking to a boy with short blonde hair called Ryota Mitarai. Those two, for some strange reason, kept talking about robots and technology, despite the fact that this place should have a grudge against them.

Next were two most attention drawing people. Another boy and girl, though I could say the 'boy' is more of a man... They were both arguing and fighting over the fish, which in my opinion, is extremely foolish. They were both very muscular and strong, I believe their names were Akane Owari and Nekomaru Nidai.

Next was the boy whose house we're all sitting under. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu. Honestly, it didn't make much sense on how he was the same age as us but still was so short, perhaps he'll have a growth spurt soon. He seems completely disinterested with talking to us, and only talked to a girl I knew as Peko Pekoyama. Like Akane and Nekomaru, I was keeping a watchful eye of her since she could spell danger. After all, who carries around a bamboo sword like that?

Next were two girls. Ibuki Mioda, extremely energetic and loud, I suppose that means she's the hyper one of the group. Next was the girl with a ton of bandages wrapped around her, Mikan Tsumiki. She keeps stuttering, don't know why but nobody else seems to complain about it. 

Then...

I turned to a girl with lavender hair. She was talking with a brown haired boy. Kyoko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi. I had to be extremely cautious around her. She gave me a weird look when Komaeda introduced me. Not only that, she kept asking me strange questions. I think I was able to dodge them for now, but I was in great danger around her. However, she seems to care a lot about that boy Makoto, perhaps I can use that to my advantage.

I looked over to Komaeda, strangely enough, he wasn't eating much. As far as my database can process, he should be eating the most since he's the skinniest out of everyone else. Now that I got my program to do more analysis, he doesn't seem to be very healthy since he's so pale, and is it not strange why he has white hair? It seems like something an ill person would have...

"No!! I want it!!!" "Give it to me!!!!" "Noooo!!"

I turned over and saw Akane, Nekomaru and Fuyuhiko wresting to get the last piece of fish. Jeez. What foolish humans. "If we can't negotiate, let's settle this with our fists!!!" Nekomaru said, cracking his knuckles. Was this some kind of competition for the fish? Hm...

Peko stood up. "If it's like that, then I'll fight." Everyone looked over to her. "Young Master wanted to give me the last piece of fish, I think it's better if I fight for my own food." "Well? That's me, old man and Peko. Who else?" Akane said, looking around us. I scanned through my two options.

**Stand up.**

**Or**

**Keep quiet.**

I sighed. 

"Oh well."

_I stood up._

_"I'll participate as well, but I'm getting the fish for Komaeda."_

Everyone looked at me, especially Komaeda. "W-Wait, you don't have to-" "Shut up. You should have at least eaten a little more if you wanted to stay healthy. Dying of hunger is painful." I simply said. Kyoko shot me a look, not that I didn't predict it already.

*Later*

Why did I make that choice again?

I was standing in a field with Peko, who had her bamboo sword out. Akane and Nekomaru, who were probably just going to fight with their bare fists I presume. Everyone else was sitting at the other side, cheering for us, I think. Hard to tell since I can't pick up on what they were saying. But I could make out Komaeda's expression. He was worried. About what? 

I looked over at the other three. Hmph. They'd get annihilated by a battle robot in just a matter of seconds unless they have proper weapons, but even then, they'd be destroyed in a few minutes at the very least.

"Alrighty!!! Last man standing gets the fish!!!!" I heard Ibuki yell. She has such a loud voice it's ridiculous.

"HIYAAAH!!!" 

I looked over and saw Peko charging straight towards me with her sword. I didn't react and simply stepped out of the way at the last second and hit her back with my elbow, making her fall over. "Peko's out!!" Ibuki yelled again. She left, slightly disappointed, which is understandable from data of a human.

Just then, I felt the wind in the air changed and looked over to both my sides. Akane and Nekomaru were both charging at me, fists out. Hm. It seems their strategy is to take out the one that looks the weakest.  

_How stupid of a human._

I leaned backwards and let their fists collide with each other while I slipped out. Now it seems that their attention is drawn to each other. Makes it easier for me. I just have to fight the last person one on one.

Eventually, Nekomaru grabbed Akane by the collar and threw her to the others. They had to back up and let her faceplant on the ground. "I'm so gonna kick your ass for that later old man!!!" Akane shouted from the sidelines.

Just then, Komaeda's face turned pale and he shouted. "WATCH OUT!!!!" I felt the wind change again and sighed. "This is getting ridiculous." I held up my right hand, and not a second too soon, a force had been applied to it, not that I couldn't handle it. 

I turned around and Nekomaru had a shocked expression on his face. Probably because I stopped his upcoming fist with just one hand. Anyone else would have been blown away, but I've seen bett-

_I've...seen better....?_

I sighed. "Let's end this shall we?" I gripped on his fist tightly and lifted the entire man up into the sky, only to slam him back down on the ground on the opposite side. I dusted off some dust I scanned on myself and walked back to the others casually.

All of them had shocked expressions on their faces, and some had their mouths wide open. I took the fish from Ibuki and went over to Komaeda. "H-How did you-?!" "What? The deed's done isn't it? I won, and as I said before, the fish is yours to eat. Stay healthy. You'll appreciate it in the long run." That was probably the best option to choose from. Makes me sound like a 'genuinely concerned friend' 

Hm. Curious.

I looked over at Kyoko, who was whispering something to Makoto, Chiaki and Ryota, who glanced at me. Perhaps they know? Who knows really. Only time can tell.

I walked off.

_"Is he- Are you sure?"_

_"I'm 70% positive. Though I don't think he has bad intentions..."_

_"I hope not..."_

_"Chiaki, should we confront him about it? Since, you know... The thing we've been working on...?"_

_"Hmm.... Best not to rush things. Let's just wait and see."_

_"To be honest, I'm still suspicious of him. Especially since Nagito said he just 'found' him one day. It doesn't seem right."_

_"Relax Kirigiri-san. It'll be fine I'm sure!"_

_"....Maybe.... There's just something about him..."_

_"What are you so concerned about? Surely you can tell me right?"_

_".....I just had a feeling when I first saw him..."_

_"What is it?"_

_"...I feel like... He's done something horrible in the past, and whatever he did before, he might have come here to do it again."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/329643065-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-4


	5. Chapter 5

Nagito's p.o.v.

I groaned, rubbing my eyes as I slowly woke up. I noticed the sun was up and gasped. "So today's the day huh..." I looked down at the ground sadly and went to get ready.

I left the house, hoping Hinata-kun wasn't up yet and I could be done quickly to come back to him.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I looked over the window and saw Komaeda running off and tilted my head. "According to my data gathered on him, Komaeda isn't a likely person to just run off without saying anything. Hm." I walked downstairs and scanned the area. No notes, no signs that he left to inform me of his leaving. Data came to the conclusion that he left for something secretive.

I pondered whether or not I should follow him. I could trace him easily, but would that be a good decision?

Nagito's p.o.v.

"What is this huh?!?!" I was standing in a dark corner of an abandoned house. In front of me were a gang of people. They've been threatening me to get money. They told me to steal money from my father since he's the chief, but I refused and tried to make my own money to pay them off.

They whacked me in the face, it stung, but it's not as if I've never dealt with this. "Where's the rest?!?" "I-I didn't have enough time..." "HAH! Don't make us laugh!" They kicked me to the ground. "Steal some money from your papa!" One of them threatened and kicked me while the others stood there, smirking.

The leader got off and grabbed me by the neck, slamming me to the back of the house. I winced in pain at the impact to the back of my head. He was smirking at me and raised a fist. "If this ever happens again...!" He swung his fist at me and I shut my eyes tightly, preparing for the impact.

_But it never came..._

I opened my eyes slowly, only to see his fist being held by someone else.

Hajime's p.o.v.

"H-Hinata-kun?!" "I knew something was up." I said, stopping the hand easily. "I-I-" I punched the man in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. "Who the hell are you?!?" They demanded. "Why should I tell people like you?" I walked towards them. I could scan the fear they had in their eyes. I wonder what it's like in that situation.

"G-Get him!!" The boy I had punched earlier said. He must be the leader of this group as the others obeyed and charged towards me.

**Warning! The system has detected a possibility of a combat. Activate self defense systems?**

I looked at them. "Sure. But keep it at minimum level."

**Affirmative. System active. Commencing battle.**

I swiftly evaded one of the punches and did an uppercut, hitting another one on the head. I scanned someone going for Komaeda as he backed up. I frowned and grabbed someone by the chin and flung him towards the man going for Komaeda. They crashed into each other.

It took less than a minute to beat all of them. Now all that's left is the leader. I walked towards him slowly, taking my time. After all, what's the rush? I could see the fear building up inside of him. Once I got close enough to him, I grabbed him by the neck and pinned him up against the wall.

_"I seem to recall you threatening Komaeda just a moment ago..."_

_"I-I promise I won't do it again! Honest!"_

_"Seeing how things are now, it should be logical that I send a threat of my own to you."_

_My hand trailed up to his left arm and twisted it easily._

_"CRACK!!!!"_

_His screams echoed through the alley we were in, and I released him. He fell to the ground, holding his arm and screaming in pain and agony._

_I broke his arm._

_"For every time I see you again, I'll break another limb."_

_Just as I was about to kick him in the stomach. Someone came in front of me, blocking me._

_"Hinata-kun! Enough!"_

I raised an eyebrow at Komaeda's actions.

"Isn't it human logic for you to hate this person?" I asked. He shook his head. "Even though he's mean to me, nobody deserves that." He sighed.

_Komaeda held out his hand to me and smiled softly._

_"Let's go home now. You must be exhausted..."_

_"Exhausted huh..."_

_I took his hand, and just like that, we left the area._

*Later*

We were back in Komaeda's house. I was sitting on the floor while Komaeda sat up on his bed. "So... You're probably wondering why those guys were kicking me around and threatening me huh?" Komaeda said. He was partially right, my systems did generate that kind of question, but I dismissed it due to the situation.

"Slightly." I answered. "Well... LMy dad's actually this village's chief. But ever since my mother died, he's been really down in the dumps. I hate using his money when he's upset like that, so I tried earning it my own way." He explained. I processed the information carefully and nodded as I did. 

"What happened to your mother?" "She died." I looked over at him. "How?" He shrugged. "I'm not sure of the specific details, but apparently she went to another village to sign a peace treaty. But she ended up getting killed in a robot invasion of that village." I felt my systems process all that.

_He'll definitely kill me if he finds out I'm a robot._

 "And what did you do to earn money?" I asked, making an attempt to change the topic.

_"I'm an entertainer."_

I raised an eyebrow. "An entertainer? What kind?" "The kind that performs at banquets and parties and stuff like that." According to database information, it's usually girls who are entertainers. "Isn't it unusual for boys to be entertainers?" I asked. Komaeda smiled. "That's my hidden trait! People have said I look like a girl, so that's what I did! If I wanted to get hired fast, I'd just dress up as a girl and I'd get it in a flash!" "Lucky you. Mind showing me an example?" I asked. Komaeda puffed up his cheeks, probably thinking about it.

_"I have a better idea. You watch me perform at the upcoming banquet!"_

I looked at him. "What's this banquet for?" I asked. "To celebrate the 2 year birthday of some rich merchant's son. I have to dress up as a girl too." "I see... Where is it going to be held?" Komaeda got up and went off, leaving me there. "Should I get up or just sit here?" I was deciding for a while, but soon stopped because Komaeda came back with a piece of paper and gave it to me.

I looked at the paper. "What is this?" I asked, showing him the paper. "It's the date, time and place of the banquet." He explained, pointing at each one. I nodded.

Komaeda smiled and took a step back. "So are you coming?" He asked. I looked up at him and nodded. "Sure." He smiled once again.

_"I hope to please you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/330787719-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-5


	6. Chapter 6

Hajime's p.o.v.

I scanned the big house in front of me. "This is the location Komaeda wrote on the paper..." I went inside the place and looked around. "Komaeda doesn't seem to be here yet." I turned to leave, but a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into another room. 

I merely stared and scanned at the figure that pulled me in. It was a girl. At least, a normal person would think so.

_"Komaeda."_

He had tied his hair up into a ponytail with a butterfly hairtie and a sakura flower pin. He had his mouth covered by a pink flowing bandanna. He was wearing pink feminine clothes as well. Any normal person would immediately assume he was a female. But I knew better.

"Haha, it seems I can't fool you." He took off the bandanna and smiled. "No. You can't." I simply responded. He placed the bandanna back on and opened the door to the room we were in. "Follow me." Komaeda said. I obeyed and let him guide me. "Oi! Mitsuko!!" I turned to see a man with long flowing red robes. "Where are you going? The banquet is about to begin!" He said.

"Mitsuko? Who is Mitsuko?" I stayed silent as Komaeda bowed. "Ah, my apologies my lord. I was just showing him around." He pointed at me while I stood there. "I see I see. Well, seeing as he's here, I suppose he could join us! What's your name boy?" I looked at the man. should I tell him my real name? No. Not this time. My mind began to stir another name. 

"Kei."

He nodded and left. "Alright, you may show him around, but do not be late!" He called. Komaeda bowed as the man left. After he was gone, he gave me a strange look. "What?" "Why didn't you tell him your real name?" "I decided not to tell a stranger such as he." I answered. Komaeda sniggered. "Says you." "Touche, 'Mitsuko'." My systems have concluded that Mitsuko is basically just Komaeda's female name.

"Come on, let's go to the banquet." He said. 

*Later*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I sat with Hinata-kun at the banquet table. "Everyone! We are gathered here today to celebrate my son's birthday! A toast!!" A man held up his glass as did everyone else. "TOAST!!" I watched as everyone else ate except for me and Hinata-kun. I couldn't eat because of my bandanna, but I was okay with that, since I ate earlier, but I was curious as to why Hinata-kun wasn't eating. "Hi-Err...Kei, aren't you hungry?" I asked. He looked over and shook his head. "My batteries are still full. There's no reason for me to eat." I laughed. "Well, I suppose that's normal for you." I said. 

Right at that moment, the person who payed me stood up and clapped his hands. "Right then everyone! I think it is time for some entertainment!" He turned to me. "Mitsuko?" "Ah, of course." I stood up. The room went silent except for a few occasional mutters going around as i walked to the front and bowed. "Ooooh, I wonder what kind of show she'll put on!" I heard some people say.

I bowed. "Today, I'll be doing my special paper butterfly flower dance." I said. I took a dagger from my back pocket and smiled. "W-Wait are you going to-" "Calm down. I'm not going to kill you all." I went over to the corner of the room and grabbed the bag of paper I brought with me. I came back with a fan and a few pieces of paper and my dagger.

"I will begin now." I said. I looked over at Hinata-kun and took a deep breath. I threw a bunch of paper into the air and jumped up, holding the dagger, slicing the papers into beautiful shapes of sakura flowers and butterflies. Even though, they were just paper, with just a little swing of the fan and the spacious area, they were sent flying as though they were real sakura flowers fluttering to the ground or butterflies gliding around.

With one good swing of the fan and quick hand motions, I jumped up and grabbed all the paper flowers and butterflies. As soon as I was done, cheers echoed through the room. People clapped and whistled but....

_Hinata-kun..._

I looked down and went back to my seat next to Hinata-kun.

"......." 

"....You weren't impressed...Were you...?" I whispered.

_".....Quite the contrary."_

I looked up at him. 

_"That was a very beautiful display."_

At that, I smiled happily. "I'm glad..." "Yeah yeah, come on. Drink your tea." He picked up a small cup and handed it to me. "Drink." I took it and tilted it back, but before I could even have a small sip, someone pulled the cup away from me. "No no no, take mine instead darling." I turned behind me and saw that it was another man about the same age as me. I glared at him. "Yeah, no thanks. H-Kei offered first." I said.

"Awww, don't be like that darling~" He cooed. He lifted my chin to his face. I pulled away from him and glared at him. "Go away." I said. Truthfully, I was worried. If this guy tries to take off my bandanna, everyone would know I was a guy, and that would thrash my dad's reputation!

He tried to grab my arm, but a hand stopped him. I looked over. Hinata-kun was looking straight ahead, but one of his hand was latched on the other man's arm. 

_"Don't you dare touch her."_

His voice was cold and harsh, he was serious. I've already seen how dangerous he is when it involves me. "Haha, what is she to you? Your girlfriend~?? What do you know about her hm?" The man was as snobby as before. Hinata-kun turned to him. "Much more than you know, that much I'll say." "What was that?!?!" Hinata-kun stood up and turned to me.

"Come on." He offered a hand to me, which I took, and he pulled me up. "So, what are you on about?" I asked the man in front of us. "Let's go Mitsuko." Hinata-kun pulled me along. "Ah! Wait!" He looked over. I went to get my stuff, but...

_"Where's my dagger...?"_

I panicked and looked over, only to see the man slowly approach Hinata-kun with my dagger behind his back and gasped. "Kei!!!" I yelled loudly. Immediately, the man took out the dagger and stabbed Hinata-kun, he tried to avoid it, but the blade drove right through his hand.

I ran up to the man and slapped him right in the face. "You fucking asshole!!!" I yelled loudly. Hinata-kun stared at his impaled palm. "D-Does it hurt?!" I ran over to check his hand. Strangely enough, his hand wasn't bleeding, nor did he seem to care.

"Kei, do you need some help?" The man who hired me asked, standing up, obviously worried. He shook his head. "No. There's no need." With that, he took my hand and left the area. I glanced one last time at the room and stuck my tongue out at that bastard who stabbed Hinata-kun.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I looked at my damaged hand. "...What a shame..." I thought. 

**Part of the system has been damaged. Advisable to seek help as soon as possible.**

"I'll fix it myself. According to what I know from the information of the village, there should be a blacksmith. I'll go in the night and take some equipment to fix it." That was the decision I decided to do. Me and Komaeda were walking through a hilly empty grassland back to our village.

"Hinata-kun, are you sure you're alright?" Komaeda asked, concerned. Strange. I assumed that he would be suspicious because there was no blood, but I should still be cautious. "I'm fine." I replied. He frowned, taking off his bandanna. "Let me see your hand." We stopped walking. I looked at him. "Why?" "Just let me see." "....Fine." 

I held out my impaled hand to him. He wrapped his pink bandanna around it. "There. That should keep it hidden." I stared at him. "What?" Komaeda walked ahead of me.

_"People will be suspicious if they see the wound when there's no blood."_

_...Does he know...?_

_"What are you on about?" I asked. "I know you have your reasons for that, so I won't pry. But others will, so that'll keep you safe."_

_........._

_He's too naive._

_He trusts me too much._

_He should be aware of how dangerous I am. And yet...._

_Being unable to understand him._

_It makes me want to destroy myself._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came up with those fake names right off the top of my head XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/331269638-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-6


	7. Chapter 7

Hajime's p.o.v.

I got up and made my way to the window, jumping out and making my way to the blacksmith's place. "Right. Now to..." I took out some tools, and in just a small bit, I finally managed to fix my palm. "All done." I thought. "Now to head back." I spun right round and  headed back to the house. 

However, from the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow not too far away. But it disappeared just as fast as it appeared. I narrowed my eyes, trying to zoom in and clear the image. Unsuccessful. I sighed and went back to Komaeda's house, climbing back to my room and went to sleep.

*Next day*

"Hinata-kun!!! Hinata-kun!!" My systems took some time to adjust from the shaking. I finally opened my eyes and scanned the face in front of me. "What is it Komaeda?" I asked. "Come on!! Come on come on come on!!" He pulled me along and we went outside. "Look up! Look up!" He said in a tone of excitement and jumped up and down, pointing at the sky.

I looked up and scanned the sun slowly rise up from the horizon. "Do you like this?" He asked. I stared at the sun. "...Hmm...." I decided to just stare up into the sky. "Uh.. Hey, your eyes will hurt if you stare at the sun for too long..." He was right, my visual function was going mad. I shook my head and slapped it a few times, it returned back to normal. 

I looked over at Komaeda, who was looking at me curiously. "What?" I said. "Hinata-kun..."

_"Have you ever smiled before?"_

I looked at him and scanned through my database for any occasions that I 'smiled' in. 

_None._

_"No."_

_"You've never smiled?!"_

_"Not as far as I remember."_

Komaeda looked down. "That's...really sad..." "Why?" "...Surely there's a reason why you can't smile... Right...?"

I thought about it.

_"...Perhaps..."_

Komaeda sighed and took a hold of my hand. "Do you remember your parents?" He asked. "Parents? Does he mean my creator?" 

"No."

He pulled me along and I just had to follow his lead. "How's your hand?" "It's fixed." He lifted my palm, and sure enough, it was just as I said. "Wow! So cool!" He seems to admire my hand. I wonder why. "What are you so fascinated about?" I asked. "Nothing. I'm just surprised how fast your hand healed!" He explained. Oh right. I forgot that human's wounds heal slower.

"It wasn't that serious." "A KNIFE was impaled through your hand." Komaeda said. "Well." I tried to say something, but my system couldn't generate an argument, so I decided to just leave it at that. Komaeda laughed. "Hajime Hinata." A voice snapped out, making us turn around.

It was Kyoko Kirigiri. I narrowed my eyes, she was the one I had to watch out for.

She glared right at me. I didn't know her intentions, but I knew this was going to be serious. "What do you want?" I asked, getting right to the point. "I need you to follow me." I stepped forward, but Komaeda started to follow me. "Alone." He stopped and growled, but he sighed. "Alright. Go on ahead." He said. I nodded and followed Kyoko.

We were going to a rather dark alley, which made me suspicious. "Where are we going?" I asked. "Don't worry, we mean no harm. There's just something we have to confirm with you." "And what might that be?" "You'll see later." I raised an eyebrow, but continued following.

*Later*

"Where are we?" I looked around, scanning the area. It seemed like an endless corridor, any normal person would've turned back by now. Suddenly, Kyoko stopped. I looked at her. "We're here." She said. Right at that moment, she yelled something.

"Makoto! Open up!"

Suddenly, the wall slid open to reveal Makoto, who was smiling. "Glad you're back Kyoko! Come on!" He gestured her and me inside. "There are a lot of secret passages in this village..." I thought, scanning the area once more. "Why are there so many secret passages and entrance ways?" I asked. "We're one of the surviving villages that haven't been colonized yet, so we're basically one giant target for the robot empire, that's why we have to take precautions in case something happens." Kyoko explained. That made sense.

"That aside, will you tell me now why we're here?" I asked. "Easy. I saw you last night." My eyes widened as I turned around. It was Ryota. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "Don't deny it. I saw you using metal tools on yourself. Explain." He said sternly. I narrowed my eyes, but soon closed them, sighing.

"Truthfully, I don't know either."

They exchanged glances and looked at each other. "What?" "You caught me. I'm a robot. But I don't know my reason for being here." I answered. There was no reason for lying, knowing information from them, they're smart enough to realize they can't fight me. However, should they try anything to harm me, I'll kill them no questions asked. This IS the perfect spot after all.

"What do you mean?" Makoto perked up. "It's as Komaeda told you, I was found. I don't know where I came from, who made me. But, I do know that I have business being here, I just don't know what it is. You don't have to be hostile to me." I explained, my systems processed all the possible questions they might have for me that I could answer, so it wasn't trouble at all. Kyoko closed her eyes, nodding. "...I guess that settles my doubt. You do seem nice after all."

"....Nice...?" I tilted my head at her. "In what aspect?" I asked. Her eyes widened at me. "You don't know?" "I expected this from him to be honest." It was Ryota who spoke up. "After Kyoko said that she suspected him to be a robot, I kept an eye on him and realized something." He turned to me.

_"He can't understand or even remotely feel human emotions."_

I nodded. "At first I thought there would be no need for such a worthless thing, but having it around Komaeda would be more convenient for me." I said. The others stared in shock at my response. "He's definitely an emotionless husk..." Kyoko commented. "He can only scan human behavior in a technical sort of way, he can't understand the things we do in our eyes and always wants an answer to the things we do and why we do it." Ryota explained. He's quite smart for his age.

"I-In case you were wondering, I've always been fascinated with robots, so I study books about them." He added. Guess he figured out my curiosity. "I spent my time inventing this..." Ryota walked up to me and took up and small chip. I stared at it, observing it. "I created this chip to help robots understand human emotions." He said.

"But, I've learned that each chips are supposed to have their own personalities that shape themselves." He said. "But mine isn't like that. I made a chip that lets you have your own personality, to ask yourself how you want to live!" He said, smiling. He seemed to be really satisfied and proud of what he did. I took it from his hands.

_"...So you want me to download this chip?"_

He nodded. "Yeah! Uh, well, not right now! I mean, you can download it whenever you want. But... Just be careful, your systems might..."

I looked up at him. "What will happen to me?"

He looked away. "N-N-Nevermind..."

I sighed. "Well, if that's all, it'll take my leave." With that, I left the area with the chip in my hands.

*Later*

"Hmm...." I was lying down on the bed, wondering what I should do. "There's obviously a cost for downloading this chip." I thought, looking at the chip in my hand. "My systems can't process whether it's really worth anything anymore." I sat up.

_"Well... It's not as though I have to download the chip right now..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/331978812-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-7


	8. Chapter 8

Hajime's p.o.v.

I woke up, batteries recharged. "Is Komaeda awake yet I wonder..." I leaned down and pressed my ear down on the floor, listening intently. Suddenly, I felt a loud 'Thump!' and got off. As I expected, the stairway was opened and Komaeda poked his head out to me.

"Oh! You're awake Hinata-kun?" I looked at him. "Obviously." I said. He smiled. "Stoic as always. Man... I wish you'd show a little emotion... Even if it isn't to me..." I heard him mumble. "......" I quietly got up and went downstairs. "Breakfast?" I asked. He simply nodded. "Kay."

"Do you know how to cook Hinata-kun?" Komaeda asked. I thought about it. I had some knowledge about cooking, I suppose I could cook something basic... "Just a little." I said. Komaeda's face lit up. "Great! Let's cook together then!" He grabbed my hand and took me to, what I presume, is the kitchen.

It was decent, with everything you would expect in a typical kitchen, nothing particularly special. "You try and wiff up whatever you can with what we have. I'm going out to get some more food." Komaeda said, running off and leaving the house. I turned back to the kitchen and scanned through all the food that was currently available. "Hm..."

*After a while*

Something was off, Komaeda wasn't back yet. I had already finished cooking what I could and I was just waiting for him. But he wasn't back yet. "........" I looked down. "Who knows what happened... I suppose it would be considered wise to go see what happened to him." That was the conclusion I came to. I got up and left the house, looking around carefully for him.

"Give us the village's goods!!! Now!!!!" My ears picked up a shout and looked over. There was a small crowd forming, is something going on? I walked over, only to see, what normal humans tend to see as, quite a scene.

There was a group of bandits, they were demanding for goods, and they threatened to kill...

_Komaeda._

_They were holding a knife right to his neck, he was crying, so afraid._

_Of dying. How funny._

I stared on and sighed. "What a pain..." I picked up a nearby stone and came up to the front of the crowd. The bandits looked in my direction and held the knife closer to Komaeda. "Get back!!" "Or I'll kill him. Is that what you're about to say. Shame."

**Combat Mode activated.**

_"I won't let you do it."_

"G-Get back or-!" I threw the stone at the man, aiming for his hand, he dropped the knife. I instantly grabbed Komaeda's hand and held him close. "Now do you see?" I asked. They charged for me. Taking Komaeda, I ran off to a dark alley. After all, causing a commotion in public would be bad. As expected, they came after us and I found myself cornered behind a wall in an alleyway. I pulled Komaeda behind me.

_"Stay behind me."_

He only nodded. "There you are you twat!!" The bandits came up to us. There were 4 of them. "4 against 1. Hmm... I guess that would be a challenge. For you at least." I said. They all charged towards me at the same time. I ducked under the first, headbutted the second, and swung the third one at the fourth. They all ended up in one big cluster. Komaeda simply stared on.

_"H-Hinata-kun...?"_

_"Are you alright?"_

That question made his eyes widen. In surprise? Why is that I wonder...

"What?" I asked. "Y-You care about me...?"

I stared at him for a moment, but looked down.

_"I can't care. About anything."_

He looked at me. "I'm sure there's something you care about! I'll help you look if want!" And just like that, he was back to being cheerful. Komaeda took my hand and we left the area. 

"Hey Hinata-kun." "Yes?" "Is what you said earlier true?" "What I said earlier?" "You know... About not being able to care about anything..." I looked over at him, he was looking away from me. 

_"Yes."_

_"T-Then why did you save me..?"_

I thought about it for a while.

_"I just thought it was the wisest option out of all. Besides, you'd despise me if I just stood there. And that would be bad for me."_

_"S-So... If you didn't have those consequences... Would you not have saved me...?"_

_I turned over to him._

_He was looking down, gritting his teeth and crying._

_I reached out my hand to him and touched the wet tears. It felt dangerous to me, so I pulled away._

Komaeda wiped away the tears and smiled up at me, cheeks red.

_"Let's go home."_

*Later*

"Wooow!! Did you cook all this Hinata-kun?" Komaeda seemed impressed. I don't understand why though, it's just a basic meal that an ordinary person could cook. Besides, I don't know whether it 'tastes' good for him or not. "Do you not want to eat it?" I asked. "Of course I'm going to eat it! You made this for the both of us after all!" I looked away. "I'm not that hungry... You can have it all if you want." "Huh? Oh no, I couldn't do that!" "Shut up. You're still skin and bones." I poked his cheek as he pouted. "Fiiine... But I'm leaving some just in case you change your mind okay?" I decided to just agree to it.

I went back up to my room to think. There have been questions in my systems for quite some time now. 

_I can't care. About anything._

I took out the chip from my pocket and stared at it. 

_There are consequences... But..._

_To be able to care about people. Komaeda._

_To understand why he cried like that. What I did wrong._

_To know how to smile for him, to be happy like him._

_I sighed._

_Perhaps it will be beneficial..._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_**Downloading chip....** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/332452953-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-8


	9. Chapter 9

**_Downloading chip..._ **

_**Scanning systems.** _

_**Downloading information.** _

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_**Warning! Warning! The data being downloaded is big and may damage the current systems! Proceed anyways?** _

_**I took a deep breath.** _

_"Yes."_

Nagito's p.o.v.

I was just eating the delicious food that Hinata-kun made, it was really amazing. I could never cook something like this! Suddenly, I heard a loud scream come from upstairs and nearly chocked on my food. "Hinata-kun?!" I yelled.

I immediately stopped eating and ran up the stairs to Hinata-kun's room. He was lying on the floor, is he unconscious? "Hinata-kun? Hinata-kun?!" I shook him gently, but he wasn't responding. "Oh no..." I had to get him to Mikan immediately! I picked him up, bridal style, gosh this guy's strangely light... I ran out of my house and straight to Mikan's house. 

"Mikan! Mikan!" I yelled. Usually she'd just let me enter, but in this state, I can't open the door by myself. "Mikaaaaaan!!!!" I yelled even louder. Just then, the door opened. "N-Nagito?! W-Why were you- Oh my! W-What happened h-him?!" It was Mikan, she seemed shocked. "I don't know! Please! You have to help him somehow! You can do it can't you?!" I was really panicky at this point.

Suddenly, the boy I was carrying squirmed and I looked down. He was awake, but...

_Something seemed...different..._

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared up at Komaeda and blinked. "What are you doing Komaeda?" I asked. "S-Sorry... I panicked, I thought you might be in danger..." He said. I nodded and he let me get down. "Hello Mikan." I said, greeting her. She gasped and waved shyly.

Having this chip in my system... It was...unique...

Even though I knew I had 'feelings' The data didn't interrupt my current process of thoughts. "Hmm..." I looked over at Komaeda. "What happened?" I asked. "I heard a scream from your room and when I got there, you were lying on the ground unconscious. I panicked and bought you here. But.. I guess everything's okay now?" He said. I looked down. "While we're on the subject, did you like my food?"

His eyes lit up. "I loved it!" I smiled. "That's good to hear."

Komaeda stared at me. It was...awkward...? "Uhh.... What is it?" I asked.

_"Y-You smiled..."_

I blinked and felt my lips. "Did I really now..." I mumbled. Komaeda smiled and took my my hand." "Are you really okay?" "Yes." "Then, shall we go home now?" I nodded. We went back home, only to come across something...rather particular on the streets. There was a crowd of people yelling at...

_A robot._

I stared at them in surprise. "No! We won't hand over our crops to you robots!!" Some of the villagers shouted. "Your resistance is futile." The robot said coldly. "Fuck you!!" One man tried to hit the robot with a huge bucket of water, but I stopped him. 

"Wait. I know this model. Water doesn't affect it." I said. The robot narrowed its eyes at me. "My database does not register you as a member of this village." It said. 

**Combat mode activated.**

I punched it right in its metal head, sending it flying. "Gh-! What the-?!" I stared down at my fist. "That...hurt...?" I shook it slightly. "Hm... Should I have expected that because I hit metal?" I thought. I dashed over to the robot. "It's still functioning." I thought and jumped down on top of it. "Time to shut this robot off for good." I thought and pulled its control panel off, ripping out several wires. After my systems determined that it could no longer function anymore, I walked back to the others.

The people were cheering. Was it because I destroyed the robot? Hm. Komaeda walked over to me and hugged me tightly. "Are you hurt?" "No." He pulled away and smiled. 

_"Come on, let's go home now."_

I nodded and we left the area. 

*Later*

"Hey Hinata-kun." "Yes?" 

_"I...really liked your smile..."_

I looked at him. "You do? But why? It's just a smile. It's nothing special." I said. "No, because that was the first smile I've ever seen you do, and it was to me. I'm very happy for that." He said. I sighed.

_"Happy...huh..."_

I smiled again. "I guess... It seems nice..." I said. "Did something happen? You seem so different now... Ah! Not that I'm saying I don't like you now! I just mean er..." I laughed while Komaeda stuttered about. "It's fine, I understood what you meant." I replied. "You're quite nice Hinata-kun. Even if when you don't understand much  of what I'm saying." "Yeah sure."

*Later*

"Hinata-kun..." Komaeda poked my face with a piece of fish cake. "What?" I asked. "Eat up." He said cheekily while smiling. I sighed and took the fish cake, chewing it slightly. The taste...is indescribable...! My eyes widened and I began chewing it faster. "Is this..really the kind of food I make...?" I thought to myself. "Is it good?" I nodded vigorously. "This is the first time I've ever realized how delicious my food was." I said. "I guess that just means you don't pay much attention when you're eating, but that's okay!"

"Hmm...." I thought about it for a while. "I don't know whether my systems were built to have feelings, but it feels nice... I still wonder who my creator is... Where I came from, why I was made. Now with feelings, the urge is even stronger." My mind was deep within the depths of questions, that is, until I registered Komaeda waving his hands in front of my face. "Helloooo~ Hinata-kun??" He called. I looked up at him. "Yes?" "Are you alright? You were spacing out." He said, concerned. "I'm fine. Just thinking." I replied, reassuring him.

"Well, I'm gonna go do the dishes, you can go back to your room and do whatever." He said. I nodded and left. Once in my room, my systems went back to its previous thinking state. "If only there was a clue." I thought. Suddenly, I had an idea. But executing it would be risky. But I wanted to take that chance, I had to know.

*Later in the night*

I waited until I was sure Komaeda was asleep and sneaked out of the house. I ran to the ditch where the broken robot lied. "Now, the robot may not look like it's my generation, but perhaps..." I examined the robot more closely and found what I was looking for. A label. 

"Eafree Corporations." Hmph. That was a weak robot corporation that was under the control of...

Future Foundation.

**Err0r Error!! St5t3ms ma1funct10n1ng n0ot not!!**

_"You know what will happen if you disobey my orders. I won't just destroy you. But him too."_

_"....I know that."_

_Fire spread throughout the village as the robots destroyed everything._

_"W-Why are you dong this?!"_

_"....There is no reason for me to tell someone like you."_

_The lady sighed._

_"And I promised I'd come back to cook for them. Oh well..."_

_"Goodbye."_

_Blood was splattered in the room, and some on the robot._  

_His face was emotionless as he stared at the corpse._

_"I suppose it's the wisest decision that I can't feel anything. I'm glad you haven't finished the ultimate chip."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/333280689-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-9


	10. Chapter 10

Hajime's p.o.v.

I opened my eyes, greeted by the ceiling I was staring at. "Second day..." I thought. I got up and stomped, not too hard, on the ground below. The staircase soon unfolded and Komaeda poked his head through. "Good morning Hinata-kun!!" He greeted cheerfully. I smiled. "Good morning to you as well. Did you sleep well?" His eyes widened. Guess he still isn't used to my new behavior, which is understandable.

He gestured me downstairs. "My dad heard about you and invited you over for lunch tomorrow." Komaeda informed. I nodded. "I see. Do I need to wear anything formal?" He shook his head. "Nah. Just bring yourself over. Though I have to warn you, he's a little coo-coo in the brain." I raised an eyebrow at that. "Okay...?"

"Hey Komaeda..." "Hm? What is it Hinata-kun?" "Does your father know about your job as an entertainer?" He flinched. "N-No... I never told him... He'd flip out." He said, clutching himself tightly. I nodded. "Why do you ask?" He asked curiously. I pondered about it. Should I tell him or not? Hmm....

"Komaeda, could you lend me your fan? Grab a spare one if you have one." I ordered. He looked at me weirdly but went to do it anyways. He came back moments later with the things I needed. "You need to know how to defend yourself if you get attacked during your act as a female, or when someone gets suspicious and you need to take drastic measures." I said, holding up the fan. "Obviously, you can't let anyone know that you're a male, so in a pinch...." With that, I swung the fan, smacking Komaeda right in the face. "Yow! Why'd you do-! Waah!!" While in his confusion, I tripped him by the feet and he landed on the ground with an "Oof!" He shook his head. 

"What was that for?!" "You need to know how to defend yourself while keeping the image of a female." I said calmly to his angry face. Getting mad isn't going to help. He has to learn or he'll be in trouble. And I don't want that. I sighed and closed the fan.

_"I won't always be there to help you out of trouble, so I'm just  trying to teach you how to defend yourself."_

He blinked and smiled, nodding understandingly. "I see. Well, you can continue then." He said. I smiled and helped him up. "Right. As a girl, you shouldn't use your fists too much, or else people will get suspicious at your strength, so just whack them with your fan or an object, and during their disorientation, trip them and sit on top of them so they can't escape. Stay there until help comes. If they have a weapon in their hands, try to find an opening when they're distracted and knock it out of their hands. Like this." With that, I whacked the fan Komaeda was holding out of his hands and he lightly jumped in surprise. "Then pin them down." I finished.

"If you find yourself in danger of being harmed, just hurt them in some way. Like kick them in the stomach or stomp on their foot until they let you go. Best thing to do is to break their wrists so they can't pick the weapon anymore and are in too much pain to struggle much." I said. Komaeda blinked at me. "How do I-" "I'll teach you." I said. "Right. You have to focus." "Like this?" "No no, like this. Alright alright, now do this and then...."

*Later*

Komaeda was having a bit of trouble handling the fan and tactics. "Man... This is tough..." He mumbled, swinging the fan around. "It'll take time for you to get used to it." I said. "Can you think of an easier way?" He asked. I thought about it, processing through my database. 

_"Uh... Maybe you could try to picture yourself dancing your sakura flowers and butterfly dance."_

That was the best suggestion I could come up with because that was the only time I've seen him handle the fan and his movements at best. Komaeda looked down and smiled. "Yeah! I should try that! Umm... Actually, can I use your room to practice? It's quiet up there so..." That seemed like a good idea, so I agreed to it.

I was just sitting on the couch, trying to process all the things I knew about the new chip I had in me. "Let's see... So I can feel pain now huh... But I'm still harder to destroy than humans. So let's see, if I adjust this and then...." I set the nerve pain systems to a bare minimum so it wouldn't badly disrupt my combat abilities. I could hear small footsteps upstairs and knew it was Komaeda. "Hmm... I wonder if he's improved yet." I thought about it and went up the stairs.

I peeked my head halfway up the stairs and saw Komaeda dancing around the room, fan in his hand and dagger in his mouth. I never noticed this when I was without the chip, but his movements were really graceful, no wonder people thought he was a female. He seemed so feminine...

"Let's see now..." He kept muttering to himself. "Komaeda." I called. He turned over to me and smiled. "Hi." "You getting the hang of it?" "Um... Not really... It's different when no one's guiding me." He said. "It's like this." I went up behind him and held his hands gently, moving it along. "A-Ah! Wait-!" "What?" I asked. "Y-You're too-!" I blinked and looked at him.

"Calm down. We're both boys. Now just follow my steps." I pulled his hands along while he stumbled and tried to follow my motions. After a little while, Komaeda got the hang of it, just slightly. "Right." "Maybe I can come up with a new dance with this..." He muttered. I noticed his face was a slight shade of red. Strange...

"Hey Komaeda. Your face's red." I pointed out. He blinked and turned away, feeling his face. "R-Really?" "Yeah." "Oh... M-Must be the heat... Let's get outta here." He said. I tilted my head curiously at him. "How strange indeed..." I walked downstairs with Komaeda close behind when he suddenly stopped, making me turn around to see what was going on.

"Something wrong?" I asked. "I left my dagger upstairs, I'll be right back!" With that, he raced back upstairs while I waited for him downstairs. After a little while I noticed him coming down the stairs with the dagger in his hands. "Okay I'm ba-aaaack!!!" Suddenly, he tripped down on the stairs. My eyes widened and immediately caught him, but the impact caused us both to fall over.

"Ow... Sorry Hinata-kun..." The pain wasn't that bad, but it still hurt. "You have to be careful next time. Tripping and falling like that with a sharp object is dangerous." I said, still on the floor. "O-Oh... Thanks... I'll be more careful next time..." Komaeda apologized, looking down. He got off me and we both stood up.

"U-Um.. Sorry..." "You already said that." "Huh? Really? Um um um..." Komaeda seemed really jittery whenever I was around. I wonder why.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I kinda got this inspiration from a video of a Japanese traditional dance. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/333921248-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-10


	11. Chapter 11

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared up at the night sky, counting all the stars I could find. "129,7503...." That was the number I currently had. "It really is quite impossible to count all the stars in the sky..." I concluded. "Well, the sun is rising, I should go back." I got up and crawled up back through the window into my room and fell asleep, trying to regain as much energy as I could.

*Next day*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I woke up sleepily, rubbing my eyes tiredly. "God... I'm really really tired..." I thought groggily. "Oh right, Hinata-kun..." I got up and went to the secret passage, kicking the wall and opening the staircase. Hinata-kun came down, he didn't look as tired as me though.

"Hey Hinata-kun." "Yes Komaeda?" He looked over to me with a curious expression. "Today we're having lunch with my dad." I reminded. He nodded. "I know." I smiled and we both went off to freshen up.

*Later*

I wore my green kimono and went to check on Hinata-kun. "Hinata-kun, are you ready yet?" I called. "Hm? Yeah almost!" I heard him back from upstairs. "Come on, I want to introduce you to my dad!" I said. "Jeez, I'm coming I'm coming!" Hinata-kun ran downstairs, pulling up up his sleeve. I blushed slightly as he tried to pull it up. "H-Here, let me help..." I pulled up his sleeve for him and adjusted his kimono. "Here you go." I said, pulling away. He smiled and patted my head. "Thank you." I blushed again and looked away.

We left the house and went to the larger one. My REAL house, though I never enjoyed living in such a big place... "Ah! My sweet sweet child!" My dad busted through the door and squeezed me tightly. "Oh God... Hi dad..." I felt like suffocating because of how tight he was hugging me. A hand gripped on me and pulled me away from the front door inside. I looked up to see my father glaring at Hinata-kun.

"...Is this your....'friend'?" He said coldly. "Dad no. He IS my friend, so you have to be nice to him okay?" I said. His eyes softened and he sighed. "Fine. Come in boy." Hinata-kun nodded and went inside. "Sorry for the intrusion." He said. I excitedly showed Hinata-kun around the place as he seemed interested around the place.

*After a while*

"Nagito my son! Lunch is ready!" My dad called me and Hinata-kun down to the dining room. "Alright we're coming dad!" I said and gestured Hinata-kun. He nodded. "Wow." He seemed rather surprised at the big row display of food in front of us. "Yeah, it hardly seems worth it to have this much food..." I said. "I know. It seems unnecessary." "Yeah." "Well? Come sit." My dad patted the cushion next to him and I hesitantly sat next to him. He glared at Hinata-kun, who seemed to get the message and sat across us. I sighed sadly. "Sorry Hinata-kun..." I whispered over. He shook his head. "It's fine."

We had a taste tester with us, who took bits out of the food for us to make sure it wasn't poisoned. After that was all done, we all clapped our hands together in prayer. "Thank you for the food." I said, and we all started eating. The food was okay, but I was staring at Hinata-kun. He was eating too, but he hasn't laid a finger on the tea. "Hinata-kun, your tea..." Immediately, he shot his head up at me.

Hajime's p.o.v.

"Hinata-kun, your tea..." I looked up at Komaeda and smiled. "You can have it if you want. I'm not thirsty." Truthfully, I just didn't want to consume too much liquid into my systems as that would damage it. Komaeda seemed flustered at what I said. "W-Wait I couldn't-!" "Just take it for crying out loud." I said haughtily. I guess I was trying to make a 'joke', but it didn't seem like a very good first impression. Komaeda chuckled. "Well, there's no refusing that." 

With that, I poured some of the tea into my cup and handed it to him, but...

_Something felt off..._

_I looked down at my hands holding the cup and scanned them as Komaeda took the cup away from me._

_They were turning brown..._

_Rust...?_

_I gasped and immediately shot up, pulling the cup away from Komaeda._

_But he had already taken a small sip._

_Komaeda's face turned pale and his eyes fluttered shut._

_He fell to the ground._

_........._

_"Komaeda!!!"_

*Later*

Nagito's p.o.v.

"Ugh...Ng.." I opened my eyes, only to see myself lying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling. "What happened...?" I thought and looked over to my side. It was a doctor, he was sorting out some medicine when he noticed I was awake. "Ah! Nagito thank goodness! How are you feeling?" He asked. I groaned. "What happened?" I asked. 

_"You were poisoned."_

My eyes widened. "By what?" "That's the interesting part, no poison was found in the contents of the tea, but instead, the poison was on the CUP." The doctor explained. Suddenly, someone burst through the doors and marched straight over to me. "Oh, my boy, are you alright?" At that, I felt the suffocating hug of my dad and groaned. "Dad... You're making it worse..." He instantly let go and growled. "That damn boy-! I knew I shouldn't have trusted him!"

Wait.

"D-Dad... What are you talking about? What boy?!" 

_"That Hajime kid of course! He's obviously the one who poisoned you!!"_

My eyes widened. "Dad why'd you do that?! He was my friend!!" "No! He was manipulating you! Waiting for the right moment to-!" "Dad. If he had bad intentions, he would've done it already. And I know Hinata-kun, he's smarter than that. He wouldn't just hand a cup of poison to me. You need to chill!" "How can I chill you almost died!!" 

I stood up, wincing in pain as I did. The doctor tried to stop me, but I marched straight up to my dad and grabbed him by the collar.

_"Where. Is. He."_

"I-I locked him in the dungeon...." "Free him!" "No! You have no proof that he didn't do that!" I growled at my dad and stormed off.

_"I knew I couldn't trust my dad..."_

_"I'm getting Hinata-kun out of there, no matter what."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/335234591-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-11


	12. Chapter 12

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was curled up in a ball in a corner of a cell. What is this feeling?

Fear, anger, or maybe confusion?

Ah... I should've known, there are negative emotions as well as positive, I suppose I didn't acknowledge that...

*Flashback*

_"Komaeda!!"_

_I ran up to him and tried to shake him awake._

_"Y-You-!"_

_I turned to Komaeda's father, whose face was filled with anger._

_"Y-You poisoned him!! Seize him!!"_

_"H-Huh? W-Wait no! I-I didn't-!"_

_My sentence was cut short as someone slammed my face into the ground, pinning me there._

_**Warning! Warning! Danger detected! Activate combat mode?** _

_No... I can't hurt them._

_"Get him in the cell! Someone call a doctor!!"_

_..........._

_"Haha... So this is why humans are so weak. They have fear. I understand now."_

*Later*

"Hinata-kun? Where are you?" I looked up and went up to the bars, peeking around. "Komaeda...?" Immediately, the figure ran up to the bars and indeed, it was Komeada. "Did they do anything to you?" He asked worriedly while holding my cheek through the bars. "I'm fine... But what about you?" I asked. He looked away angrily and clicked his tongue.

"My dad thinks you were the one who poisoned me. But I know you're not. You're smarter than that." He said, turning back to me. "Be honest. Did you poison me?" I shook my head vigorously. Komaeda smiled softly and pulled me into a rather awkward and uncomfortable hug through the cell. "I knew it. But now we have to figure out who really was the one who poisoned me." He said.

_"Actually, there's one person out there that we know that can help us solve this."_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"Kyoko Kirigiri."_

*Later. Again*

"So let me repeat to see if I got all this. There was poison on the outside of Hajime's cup, and that's why the taste tester didn't get it when they tasted the food. And Hajime didn't feel like having the drink, so he offered it to Nagito, and that's how he got poisoned." Kyoko recapped, joting down some notes. I nodded. "Yeah, and Nagito's father thinks I was the one who put the poison inside." I explained. She looked up at me. "But you weren't." "Yeah. We need you to help us find out who the real culprit is, or I'll be stuck in this ridiculous cell." I said, while Komaeda nodded. There was one last detail I had to tell her regarding the poison, but I couldn't let Komaeda know.

"Uhh Komaeda, I think maybe you should go try to reason with your father again." I said. He looked at me in surprise and sighed. "No. He won't listen to anything I have to say." He said sadly. Kyoko seemed to catch on on what I was trying to do. "Well, you never know. Just go on ahead." She said, pushing him out of the prison room and shut the door behind her. 

"Alright, what do you want to say?" She asked, crossing her arms. I gestured her closer to me. "Actually, I realized at the last second that it was poison, because of this." I held up my now a little less rusty, hand. Kyoko's eyes widened. "I touched the outside of the cup, and this was the outcome. I think it'll help you to know what kind of poison this is." She nodded in agreement.

"We have to find out two things. What type of poison makes metal rust, and who might have been able to put the poison. If there's someone who matches these two things, then case solved." She said. I nodded. "Try asking around the kitchen first, that's a big head start." Before Kyoko left, she gave me an earpiece and a small speaker.

"You seem like a good detective. It's not fair that you have to be locked down here. Use the earpiece to listen to what's going on, and use the speaker to give advice if you want. Ryota made them." She explained. I smiled and nodded as she fitted an identical earpiece into he ear and held the small speaker in her hand. "Good luck." I called as she left.

*Later x3*

 I listened along as Kyoko walked to the kitchen. She told me that that was where she was going. "Don't be too direct, just ask around who was the one who put the food on the plates and the one who washes the dishes as well as the person who puts and takes the silverware and plates out and stuff." I said over the earpiece. "I know I know, I can do things as well okay?" "Sorry." 

After a little while, Kyoko finally spoke up. 

_"We have our culprit. It's the dishwasher."_

My eyes widened. "How and why." I said. "Don't worry, Nagito's getting you out of that cell. Put away your earpiece and the speaker." She ordered. I nodded and took them out, keeping them in my pocket. I didn't have to wait long as Komaeda came in with some keys. "Hinata-kun!!!" He yelled loudly, unlocking the door.

As soon as I was out, Komaeda tackled me into a hug, knocking me to the ground. "Oof! K-Komaeda!" "I'm so glad..." I shut up and pushed him off of me. "We have to go." I said. He nodded, now serious. "Yeah." We left the prison area and headed to Komaeda's father's house. "Kyoko figured out the culprit!" Komaeda said as we ran. I wanted to say I knew that, but I knew that he would ask how. "Oh really? We'll just see." 

At last, we arrived. Kyoko was waiting for us at the entrance. "How'd you figure it out?" I asked. "Simple. I asked for the cup that had the poison and checked with a metal spoon, but it didn't rust. In other words, someone washed the poison away. And the last one to even touch it was the dishwasher. And it makes sense since he handles the all the plates and cups." She explained. "And his reaction when I asked him whether he knew of a poison that could make metal rust."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "How DID he react?" "He got flustered and said he had nothing to do with it." She said. Hm. That is suspicious. "I guess he IS the culprit." I concluded. "What?? Just like that?!" Komaeda stared at me in disbelief.

_"His reaction was all we needed. Most humans are extremely transparent with their emotions when it comes to certain matters."_

"Not only that, I found this with him. He's so careless." Kyoko said, taking out a small container from her pocket. She dipped a metal rod inside, and the entire thing instantly turned brown and rusted up. "This is the poison that was used." She said. We all turned to Komaeda's father. "So? How about it? The man already confessed his crime." He was speechless, but he eventually agreed to let me free, not that I wasn't already.

I looked over at the man on the ground and narrowed my eyes. 

_"Who was the one who ordered you to poison me?"_

_He and everyone else looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean Hinata-kun?" Komaeda asked._

_"The look in his eyes say that he was forced, or bribed. So say it right now." I said._

_"Y-Yes... I was threatened... She'll kill my family-! We're all going to die!!"_

_I raised an eyebrow at him._

_"Who is 'she'?" I asked._

_"Junko Enoshima."_

_I tilted my head curiously at him._

_"Junko....Enoshima......"_

_Where have I heard that name..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/336357656-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-12


	13. Chapter 13

Hajime's p.o.v.

After such a dramatic day, we headed home together and I sat down on my bed, thinking. I was searching through my database for anything related to "Junko Enoshima." But everything in my systems seemed to be so restricted regarding whoever this person was. I ended up just giving up and slumping down on my bed.

"I never thought my systems would have such a function. Even I didn't know of it." I thought and wanted to get some sleep. My battery was only at 15%, unbearably low for someone like me. "Hinata-kun..." I opened my eyes and turned over. "What's wrong Komaeda?" I asked, getting up. "No, it's just, are you alright? Today's been pretty rough you know." He said. I smiled and nodded. "It's okay. I'm fine." I said. He puffed his cheeks up, as if he didn't believe me. "I'm being honest you know." "I know... It's just hard to believe. Any normal person would be terrified of this kind of situation." "It's fine." "Well, good night." "Night, Komaeda."

*Next day*

I yawned, waking up. Considering the fact my battery was so low, you could say that I was in a deep sleep. I stomped down on the floor boards, hoping Komaeda was already awake and would hear me. I was right, the stairway soon opened up and Komaeda's head popped in. "Did you sleep well?" He asked. I nodded. "What shall we do today?" I shrugged. "I have no idea. Do you have anything?" "Uhh... Actually, there is something I have planned, but I'm not sure if you'll-" "I'm fine with anything honestly." I cut in. Komaeda smiled. "Okay. Come along now." 

With that, we both got up to get ready and left the house. "Where are we even gonna go?" I asked. "You'll see, it's a surprise." "I see." "No, you don't~" Suddenly, Komaeda pounced and covered up my eyes. "H-Hey-! What the hell?! Komaeda! I can't see!!" "That's the point." With that, I was dragged along by him, or if i think it was him, since I couldn't see.

*Later*

This pace was continuing for quite some time now. I was beginning to wonder if Komaeda knew where he was going. "Hey Komaeda, are you sure you know where you're going?" I asked. "I do. Don't worry, we're almost there." He said. "Alright." I decided to just trust him at that point, since it was obvious he wasn't going to let me even glance a peek of where we were going. 

Eventually, he finally let go of me, letting me see. I had to blink a few times to adjust. But my ears picked up the sound of roaring water, which surprised me. We were standing right in front of a waterfall. I gulped as my systems went blaring with warnings of water. "Oh boy..." "Do you like it?" I didn't know what to say. I most certainly didn't enjoy it, but Komaeda didn't know, obviously. I'd be hurting him if i said I didn't like it when he put in all this time to bring me here. 

"I-It's pretty nice..." I shuddered. Now this is definitely fear. Komaeda's eyes brightened up and he smiled happily. "Let's go for a swim then!" He said. I groaned. "Whoever made me is really dumb for not adding water proof features." I thought. "No... To be honest, I don't particularly enjoy being around water..." I admitted, there was no use hiding that fact anyways. His smile faded. "O-Oh..." "Ah! Not that I'm saying I don't like this! I like it a lot! It's just...I don't like going near water...at all." I explained. 

Even though he still seemed a little upset, Komaeda seemed to understand and smiled up at me. "It's okay then, I'll swim alone." I sighed and simply sat on a rock, watching Komaeda as he splashed around in the water. He seemed to be happy going around like that. I wonder why. But it's not like I'll be able to know anyways because I can't go in the water.

*After a while*

"Hey Hinata-kun! Look what I found!" Komaeda bubbled out of the water and held up a stone. I scanned it for a moment before realizing how unnatural the shape was. It didn't exactly look like a stone at all, in fact, it looked like some kind of coin. "It has a weird shape to it, mind if I see it?" I asked. "Okay! I'll get out of the water then!" He yelled and walked over to me in the water.

Suddenly, his expression changed to one of shock and pain. My eyes widened and I went over to him. But the second the water touched me, I could feel the urge to stay away shoot through me, and I had to stay back. Komaeda crawled out of the water. "What happened?" I asked, going over to him. I noticed his left leg was bleeding, a lot, and gasped. "Komaeda?!" I bent down to check it, and sure enough, there was a huge cut gashed across it.

"S-Sorry... I guess I scraped it against a sharp rock..." Komaeda said, laughing awkwardly. I frowned. "We need to get you back. It might be infected." I said. "E-Eh?! B-But it's such a long way-! Hinata-kun!!!" I interrupted his sentence by picking him up, bridal style. "We have to get home as fast as possible, do you have that stone with you?" He nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yeah..." "Try not to move as much as possible, or it'll hurt even more." I said. He nodded and held on tightly.

**Boost mode on.**

I didn't like using my abilities right in front of Komaeda, but this was harmful right now. I sped off, faster than one would normally be able to, and hurried back to the village. I knew the route by calculating through the sounds and steps of the path we took previously. We were back in the village in about 3 minutes. 

"If I recall it..." I looked over at the house when Komaeda brought me to a girl named Mikan. I nudged Komaeda to knock on the door. He seemed to understand and did it. Moments later, Mikan came to open the door, and her eye widened at the sight. It was rather normal after all, one would definitely be shocked at this sight. 

"U-Um... I hurt my foot so..." Komaeda's face was red and he just clung onto me tightly. "H-Huh?! W-Why didn't y-you just say so?! C-Come in, I-I'll help you." With that, she gestured me inside and went about to help treat the wound. 

*After a while*

Komaeda came back limping slightly and a bandage wrapped around his foot. "Are you alright?" I asked, getting up. He smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine now." He said. He looked at me weirdly.

_"You seem to be so kind now... Is this the real you?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/337504984-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-13


	14. Chapter 14

Hajime's p.o.v.

_"You seem to be so kind now... Is this the real you?"_

I felt myself twitch as my gears spun around. "...Real me...? What does that mean?" I simply stared at Komaeda. "I don't think I understand..." I said bluntly. He seemed surprised. "U-Um... Well..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's um... N-Nevermind... I-I just...like this...'You'." Komaeda's face turned red, which made me curious. "Strange... How does a human's face turn red like that?" I thought about it, deciding to ask my computer systems.

**"A human's face can turn red for various reasons. It usually occurs because of rapid blood circulation in the cheeks. It can happen due to fever, anger, and more frequently, embarrassment."**

I raised an eyebrow. "Embarrassment? He doesn't look angry. Perhaps Komaeda has a fever?" I thought about it to myself and walked over to him, touching his forehead and checking the temperature. Komaeda's face turned even more red, but his temperature didn't seem high... I pulled away and stared at him. "Why is your face so red?" I asked. "U-U-Um... N-No reason..." He looked away from me and sighed. "L-Let's go home..." He said. I shrugged. "Okay." I followed him back to the house. By the time we reached home, it was evening, and my battery was about to finish, so I immediately went upstairs and went to bed.

*Next day*

**"KSSSSSSSSSSSSH!!!! ERROR ERR0R 3RR0R!!"**

"Gah!" I woke up with a start at the glitching systems and fell out of the bed. "Ow.... Systems?" I whispered, rubbing my head. "Who knew falling off your BED could be this painful. I don't feel as much pain as the normal human regardless of circumstances. So if I feel this much pain, it's probably even more painful for a regular human." I thought. "What happened?" I asked.

**"The systems have received another glitched and problematic video. Do you wish to save and play it?"**

My eyes widened. "...Something's up. Why did I get so many glitched out files? It seems as though they're not viruses, but they're definitely from an outside source." I said. "Alright. Play the video." I nodded.

**"Ksshtt-!!"**

_A boy stood in front of me, waving his hands in my face. I recognized him. He was the boy in the previous video I got before, with the fishing experience._

_"C-Can you see me?" He asked._

_"Yes."_

_"Are_   _the systems functioning?"_

_"Yes."_

_He sighed in relief._

_"Then... Your name is Hajime Hinata."_

_"Yes."_

_"What would you like to do?"_

_"....What do you wish for me to do?"_

_"Um...."_

_I could see the scene shift itself._

_A bouquet of flowers was shoved in my face as I just stared at the same boy, who was grinning from ear to ear._

_"Do you like these?"_

_"....Like....?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"........"_

_He lowered his hands._

_"Oh... You...can't feel feelings right?"_

_"No."_

_"...Yeah..."_

_Yet another flash, probably a fast forward._

_"Here! It's Valentine's Day! Here's some chocolate for you!"_

_He gave me a small box of chocolates and smiled._

_I simply stared at him and took the chocolates._

_"Do you want me to eat it?"_

_"W-Well it's um..."_

_The boy sighed._

_"...I really want you to be able to feel feelings..." He said._

_I tilted my head at him._

_"Why is that?"_

_"I was so lonely. That's why I made you. But it really hurts when you just stare at me completely emotionless."_

_"I see..."_

_"Hey, can you promise me something?"_

_"...An order?"_

_"...I suppose you could take it that way."_

_"What is it?"_

_He walked up to me and kissed my cheek. I just stood there, caring in the least bit._

_"Promise me we won't part. Okay?"_

_"Part? Death?"_

_"...Heh... That's a part of it I guess..."_

_"Order received."_

_"...Hahahaha...."_

_"Why are you laughing?"_

_"...I guess I wasn't able to complete you... Don't worry, I'll definitely help you." He said, hugging me tightly._

_"You're what I love the most."_

_"...Love...?"_

I had to blink a few times after that video clip and shook my head. "What the heck..." I thought and sighed. "Alright, that vibe I felt, and the information that I gathered, is that my creator?" I thought about it and sighed. "But I can't recall how he looked like... It's too fuzzy..." I went and opened the window to my window and looked outside. It was a little chilly now and I wondered if it was a good idea to go outside at this point. 

"Komaeda!!!" I called, stomping my feet on the wooden floor below. Not a moment later, the stairs opened up and his head popped up, smiling. "Good morning Hinata-kun!" He said cheerfully. I smiled and went downstairs with him. "It's getting to the winter season now. Do you need some warmer clothes?" Komaeda asked. I thought about it. People might get suspicious of me if I don't. "Yeah okay." "Here!" He shoved a brown long sleeved jacket to me. I raised an eyebrow as I scanned the item. "Where'd you find this?" I asked. Komaeda scratched the back of his head. "Uh... I actually found it close to a robot civilization. I twitched. "There's...one close by...?" I said hesitantly.

Komaeda nodded. "Yeah. Even though I don't like robots, I'm extremely curious about the world they live in." He admitted. I looked over to him, he wasn't lying. I looked down. "Do you...want explore there?" I whispered out. His eyes widened. "R-Really?!?!" "Yeah..." "Awesome!" I narrowed my eyes. It still amazes me how much Komaeda trusts me, it's almost terrifying. "Aren't you even slightly suspicious of how I know about the robot world?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nah. In fact, I found you near that place, in the forest separating our village and that place. So I guess you were trying to escape or maybe-"

**"BZZZZZT KSSSH-!!!!!!!!!"**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!" I let out a scream at what he said and collapsed on the floor, my screen filled with bleeping red caution signs and large 'ERROR' signals. "H-Hinata-kun?!" Komaeda rushed to my side and started shaking me.

_"Hinata-kun?! Hinata-kun!!"_

_"............"_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_I remember now._

_.........._

_I can't be with Komaeda anymore._

_Maybe... I should make up for what's left of the time huh..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/342316671-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-14


	15. Chapter 15

Hajime's p.o.v.

I glanced out at the morning sun rising over the horizon. "Hinata-kun!!" I heard Komaeda's voice and arms wrapped around my waist and I turned around smiling. "Hey Komaeda." I said. He smiled. "Hey... Do you want to hang out for a bit?" I asked, grinning. He looked at me curiously. "Eh? Why this all of a sudden?" It seems he's suspicious, but who wouldn't be honestly? "I just felt like it." I lied. He smiled. "Well sure! I don't mind one bit!" "Well, where would you like to go?" "Dunno... Erm, lemme think... Ah! I have an idea! Come! Come!" Komaeda grabbed my arm and dragged me off, but I was used to this. I didn't bother to question where we were going.

*A little while later*

"Where are we going Komaeda?" I asked. "Look!" Komaeda pointed forward and I looked over. It was a small beach area. "Huh... I didn't know there was a beach here." I said. "Yeah, people come here in the summer season, but it's getting close to winter, so that's why it's empty." Komaeda explained. "But... I kinda like it when it's cold, it just feels nice.." I stared at him. Even though I have feelings, I don't have nerves. So I'm incapable of feeling much. "...I see... It seems nice but..." "I know you dislike the water, so we'll just sit in the sand. Here." Komaeda pulled me along again and made me sit next to him. I could hear the ocean and waves splashing and crashing, it's peaceful and violent at the same time. It seemed strange...

"Do you still remember when we first met?" I asked. Komaeda looked at me. "Why this question all of a sudden?" He asked, curiosity on his face. "No reason... It just came into my mind... Sorry." I looked away. "No, it's fine. I remember where I found you. You were passed out in the middle of a forest. I found you and got you in my house. You had quite a few wounds and-" My eyes widened. "Wait. What type of injuries did I have?" I asked. The question never occurred to me that time. "Erm... Just a couple of scratches that's all." "How'd you treat them?" "I didn't. I didn't want to bother you too much so I just let them be." "I see..." I was a bit relieved at that and went back to gazing at the ocean.

"Do you still have that coin thing?" I asked. Komaeda nodded and rustled through his pockets before handing it to me. "Here ya go." I stared and scanned it. "Just as I thought..." I thought to myself. "Can I hold onto it for a while then?" "Of course!" I stuffed the coin in my pocket and smiled at Komaeda. "Want to go fishing again?" His eyes lit up. "Really?! Yes!!" We both ran off to get the equipment. Komaeda seemed very happy, and that made me glad.

".....Komaeda..." "Hm?" We were at the pond, waiting for the fishes to bite, which was taking a while longer than before.

_"If I told you this was my last day with you, what would you say?"_

Nagito's p.o.v.

The question took me by surprise, but I regained my composure and looked out over the horizon, thinking of my answer. "Um... I'd probably ask why you were leaving, and if you said it was for a good cause, then I guess I'd let you go..." I looked at Hinata-kun and smiled. "But I'll wait for you." At that, he shot his head at me in shock and my smile grew wider. "If it's for a good cause, like going back to your family, then I'll let you go! But you have to promise to come back, or at least visit, kay?" Hinata-kun looked away. "....What if I was forced to leave...?" I frowned and hugged Hinata-kun's waist tightly and pulled him closer to me.

_"I won't let anything take you."_

_"...You're an idiot. What if they were stronger than you? Or what if they were threatening me?"_

_"I'll find a way. I promise that."_

_"......."_

_I could feel_ _Hinata_ _-kun smile and hug me back._

_"....I guess that would be nice..."_

_"But... Please..."_

_He pulled away and gazed into my eyes, serious._

_"Don't do something stupid for me in a situation you can't win in."_

His face screamed that he was really serious, and I could sense something wrong and tense in the atmosphere, but I still smiled. "Alright Hinata-kun." He smiled, relieved. "Good." We managed to catch a few small fishes and prawns, to my delight, and as we were walking back, Hinata-kun got an idea. "I learned how to make tempura a few days ago, do you want me to cook at your dad's house?" The idea made me chuckle. "But you're a guest in his house!" "I don't mind honestly." "Well... If you're okay with it..."

*Later*

Hajime's p.o.v.

Now I was here, cooking some delicious food and tempura for Komaeda and his father. I knew how to cook and made extra sure not too much water got on me, which is why I ask others to do the dishes and so on. Just then, Komaeda came into the kitchen and waved at me. "Hey Hinata-kun, have you seen my ink bottle? I think I left it here..." He asked. I thought about it before remembering that there was an ink bottle in the higher up cabinets. Neither me or Komaeda could open it without using a stool, it a pretty stupid design and feature, but I didn't question it. "Yeah, I think it's in the higher up cabinet, but I'm making tempura right now so-" "It's okay! I'll just go get it myself!"

I watched and frowned as Komaeda went to get a stepping stool and clambered up on it. "Komaeda... You're going to fall you know..." I stared at him and back at the rocking chair. "Komaeda, seriously..." He ignored me and took the ink bottle from the cabinet, but as I thought he fell off and hit the floor with a loud thud against the kitchen desk. I sighed and shook my head. "See I-!"

_Right at that moment, I realized the pot of hot oil I was using for the tempura was just above_ _Komaeda's_ _head, toppling over, ready to fall._

_"Komaeda!!"_

_I grabbed the bowl of oil as if on instinct and set it back up again, but I felt a hot sensation shoot through my hand, I didn't care that much and bent down to check on Komaeda._

_"Are you okay Komaeda?! Did any oil get on you?!"_

****Komaeda's eyes widened and he pointed at my arm. I looked down and noticed the skin paint melted off and there was red paint underneath. I had metal skin, but with two layers of paints over, the first layer is red, like muscles of humans, and the outermost, which is the one everyone sees, is the peachy one, like normal human skin. But it seems as though the boiling oil melted away the peach paint and revealed the red one. "A-Are you okay?!" He asked, trying to hold the melted part, but quickly pulled away because of how hot the metal was. I blinked and looked at the burned hand.

_"...Why did I do that..?"_

_I pondered about that question for a while._

_I didn't understand why I stopped the oil like that, even more of the fact I didn't realize the wound immediately and just cared of Komaeda's well being.. It just...didn't make sense, even with the feelings I had._

I shook my head and smiled. "It's okay Komaeda, the food's almost done so just go get ready okay?" I said, smiling. He nodded and went off. I sighed and rubbed the burned area. "There isn't any paint I could use to cover it up... Guess I'll have to deal with it for a while." I thought and went back to cooking.

*Later*

"Thank you for the food!!!" Komaeda and his father said to me, and we all started eating. I smiled at how much Komaeda was enjoying the tempura. He seemed to notice me gazing at him. "Hinata-kun, is something wrong?" He asked. "No... I... Do you like the food?" I asked, looking away. He smiled and grabbed my hand that had a burned mark on it. "Thanks..." "For what?" "....N-Nevermind..." He simply looked away and went back to eating. I tilted my head curiously at him, but decided not to say anything else.

_This is the end after all._

I finished eating rather quickly and went back up to our- Komaeda's house and kicked the button in the wall, letting the stairs down. "Hinata-kun." Something grabbed my hand as I tried to go up the stairs and I turned around. It was Komaeda. "What is it?" I asked. "Hinata-kun.... I want to give you something. Is that okay?" He asked, one hand behind his back. "Hm? Sure. I don't mind." I said, shrugging my shoulders. Komaeda smiled and handed me a necklace. I tilted my head and stared at it. It had a weird shell attached to it, in a shape of a kind of hook. "Remember when I injured my leg and it bled out?" "Yeah, I remember, why?" "I found out what scratched me, and it was this thing." Komaeda explained, pointing at the hook shaped shell. "Do you want it?" "....Sure." I nodded and smiled, taking the shell and putting on the necklace. 

_"Thanks Komaeda."_

_"No problem!"_

_"........"_

_"Hey Komaeda..."_

_"Yes?"_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"...I'm glad I met you."_

_"...Huh? What does that mean?"_

_"It's fine. I'm tired. Goodnight Komaeda."_

*Next day*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I woke up rubbing my eyes tiredly. But...something seemed strange, off.

_Something was missing._

I got up and kicked open the secret button for the stairway. I wanted to ask Hinata-kun about it. "Hinata-kun, are you awak-?"

_I stared at the room._

_It was empty._

_........_

_Hinata-kun....?_

_I looked up and saw that the window was open and looked out of it._

_"...Why...? Where did you go...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty and mysterious. Cool. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/347887519-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-15


	16. Chapter 16

Hajime's p.o.v.

"Ah, you finally came back to me sweetheart..." "...Where is he?" "Aww, not even a greeting?" "Where. Is. He." "Jeez, sourpuss... He's in the basement." I walked down and found him. He smiled and hugged me tightly. "....Why didn't you run away...?"

"She'll kill you if I managed to break off all contact and truly escape."

"....I see... You came back to keep your promise. I appreciate it but..."

"Enough. This is my order. I am nothing but a robot that follows orders. And this is my order to stay with you."

I sat down next to him and stayed there. He smiled and patted my head.

"You never change..."

_"Little brother..."_

Nagito's p.o.v.

I looked around all over the village but I couldn't find Hinata-kun anywhere. I was really panicking, I really didn't know where he was. What if he was in trouble? What if he got attacked? Dozens of possibilities rambled in my mind, I really couldn't pin point and it sucked. "God where are you Hinata-kun?!?!" I thought in frustration. I kept running around the place, searching every nook and cranny I could think of.

Right at that moment, I noticed Makoto looking around in an alleyway and felt suspicious, deciding to follow him. "What are you doing Makoto?" I wondered. He opened a weird hole in the wall and entered it. I followed after him and managed to keep the door opened and went inside quickly. "What is this place...?" I thought, looking around.

Just then, I saw Makoto, Kyoko and Ryota chatting, like they were discussing something. I hid behind some kind of desk and eavesdrop on their conversation. "Where'd Hajime go?" My eyes widened when I heard Hinata-kun's name. "Well, seeing as he's a robot... Maybe he went back to the robot city stuff or something?"

_My brain froze for a good few minutes._

_"Hinata-kun...is a robot...?"_

_It made....a lot of sense when I thought about it..._

_It was so strange but..._

_I didn't really mind him being a robot as much as I first figured._

I stepped out of hiding and everyone looked in my direction in shock. "N-Nagito?!?!" Makoto squeaked in surprise while Kyoko and Ryota exchanged shocked glances. "...You guys knew?" I said, trying not to give them the wrong idea that I was mad or anything. "Listen, he asked us to keep it a secret. If the village knew, he'd be toast." Kyoko explained. I sighed, that was a logical reason. "Well, you have a bit of explaining to do please..." I said, crossing my arms. "And I'm not leaving till I get one." I added. "Alright, you deserve to know anyways since you've been with Hajime the most."

*After a while of explanations*

"Wow.... This is...a lot of information to gather..." I said holding my head, processing all the information. "I know, it took some time for us to grasp all that too." Ryota said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I want to find him." I said, determined. "Are you nuts?! He's most probably in the robot city or something!" Ryota yelled slightly. I flinched back. "But..." "Well... Maybe we can help Nagito...? Please..." Makoto was just in a corner, I think he just mumbling aloud. Oh well then.

"What?" Kyoko must've heard it with me. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked. "Well, I can tell he really cares about Hajime. So maybe we can at least help?" He said, looking at the other two. Kyoko and Ryota looked at each other and mumbled a few things. "Hmm...." I was hoping they'd agree. I wanted to talk to Hinata-kun and discuss this matter. It was a lot of information to take in. So I thought talking face to face with him would help me understand the whole situation.

"Well..."

My head shot up as Kyoko spoke up.

_"I guess we could help you a little..."_

Hajime's p.o.v.

I looked around the area and scanned it with curiosity. "...This is a rather different feeling I got from Komaeda's village." I thought. It feels like I'm being pressed up against walls.

_Trapped? Hm. Strange._

I walked around, watching the other robots torture the humans and force the mechanical helmets on them. I narrowed my eyes and ignored it, walking around more, staring at the controlled humans. In this world, humans are controlled by brainwashing helmets. It's a scene typical in a movie, but that's the way it is. It's either brainwashed humans or robots you see in this kind of world. With feelings, I can understand why normal human hate this, either that or that's just how Ryota programmed the chip. I didn't know, nor did I care.

I stared down at the necklace tucked inside my shirt. I didn't want to draw attention by having it waving around, as much as I wanted to look at it. "Hey Hajime! Get your ass in my office right fucking now!!!" I heard a familiar voice boom through my speakers and sighed. "Of course." I increased the speed of my leg movements, dashing off to the place.

_Here we go again. She never changes._

"Have you killed him yet?"

".........."

"WELL?! You DID get the message right?!!"

"....Yes. Everything is fine. He is gone."

"Then I have a new mission! Put on a beautiful lightshow for me!!"

"Set that stupid village on fire. And I'll be watching VERY close to you now."

Orders.

_"El..mina...th...villa..e.'s ch...f...on..."_

_"Eliminate the village's chief's son."_

I looked down at the ground.

"....Understood."

*Later*

I put the information into a computer and sent it off.

"........."

_"I'm sorry Komaeda."_

Ryota's p.o.v. 

We discussed what we should do. Makoto suggested that Nagito should sneak in and maybe I could create a device that could disable robots. It sounded like an okay plan, but of course, it wasn't full proof.

Just then, I heard my computer make a 'Ping!' Sound and looked over. "...Wait a sec..." I walked over to investigate and got a shock. "...Why do I have a new message?? No one has my email address except Makoto and Kyoko, and they were right here with me, so who sent this? No one has any technology in our village, let alone anywhere else. So who sent this?

I opened up the message and read it thoroughly, before jolting back, eyes wide.

"...N-No way..."

"What is it Ryota?" My friends asked.

"...Guys. We have to get out of this village. Now."

"Why...?"

"This place will be set on fire soon. We have to warn everyone and evacuate immediately." I said flustered. "How do you know that?" "Look. At. The. Message." I said, jabbing a finger at my computer. They stared at it and almost had the exact same reaction. "W-Who sent this?!" "I have no idea!" Nagito was extremely worried. Well that should be expected, he's the chief's son of course!! "I'll warn my father." He said.

"Wait. Knowing him, he might ask how you knew that. How are we going to convince him?" Kyoko asked. "Well... I guess we could just let it go 50/50." Nagito said, shrugging. "Alright I suppose." Kyoko didn't like leaving it to chance, but there wasn't much we could do anymore. "If my father doesn't care about my village and would risk a fire occurring, then leave the old rekt there." Nagito mumbled. "Come on, let's go warn the villagers."

Hajime's p.o.v.

_"........."_

_I stared at the boy hugging me tightly._

_"...You know I'm not your real brother."_

_"I know. I was lonely. So I made you. But I still love you a lot."_

_"...Love....huh."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/351426826-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-16


	17. Chapter 17

Hajime's p.o.v.

I walked along the roadside, looking around. "...This is so different from Ko's village. I prefer his village though..." I thought to myself. Tall neon lit buildings, robots littering, literally, everywhere. There were people, but they were...

I sighed and looked down.

_They were robbed of freedom of any movement or thoughts. Everything they were capable of._

They were just controlled, just like the machines.

I felt a chill run up my spine and felt the heartbeat gears speed up and backed up into an alleyway. "Oh God..." 

**"Warning! Warning! Hearts gears are too irregular!! Taking emergency precautions, calming the system, slowing it down."**

I slumped down and sighed, closing my eyes. "It's weird... I have human emotions and natural habits, but my robotic systems can instantly slow down or speed up any systems in it if necessary. So... I guess I can calm down almost instantly, or fake certain emotions. Hah.... Phew, I'm good now." I walked out to the streets and a loud voice sprout into my systems. "Hajime! May I talk to you for a moment later? I need to check your system, make sure they're okay." I flinched. "...Fine." "Good! See you!" He smiled and went away. 

"...He's definitely going to notice the chip in the system." I thought and facepalmed. "There's no other choice." I looked down and ejected the chip out of my head.

.........

"........." Wow... So peculiar. Everything disappeared. What I had. I stared at my reflection in one of the shop windows. The weird white shine in my eyes were gone. Was this supposed to be a sign of the loss of my emotions? Curious. I walked into the massive and tallest building in the area, right smack in the middle of the city and entered the basement area.

"Master? Where are you?" I asked, looking around. "Right here!" He pounced up and hugged me from behind. "Check up?" "Fine." "Alright, just step up the platform and let's see if-" He stopped mid sentence as I had already walked up and stood on the platform. "Oh... Right... We've done this many times so..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly while I just sighed. "Humans. Is this not common sense?" 

Suddenly, something buzzed and my screen glitched for a moment, making me blink. "Huh."

**"The computer has detected a strange error and confusion within the system's routine. Attempting to resolve now."**

"Error? What is that supposed to mean?" I pondered about this matter while looking at the ceiling as Master scanned me, looking at his monitor. He raised an eyebrow and looked up at me while I stepped down, trying to scan my systems for the error. "Uh... Did you, by any chance, remove any chip from your system?" I froze.

_...How'd he know?_

"Not any of yours at least." I answered, half a lie and half a truth. I've lied to others, but this is the first time I've lied to my Master. "If the chip is removed, how did you figure it out through the scan?" I asked. "Simple. Your system follows a routine, like a habit. When you remove it abruptly, your system will develop error coding from the change and will take time to adjust." He explained. "Makes sense. Like a human." "Well, I DID try to create you as close to one as possible. As for the emotion chip I'll try to wo- Ack!" He tripped over a number of boxes and fell on his face. It didn't faze me. This happened multiple times, and the basement is filled with wires, boxes, tablets and computers. What normal person wouldn't fall over here?

"Speaking of... Oh jeez. Hang on a sec..." I sighed and shoved my hand into the piles and piles of boxes and pulled my Master out, leaving the boxes to roll away as we both stood there. How do boxes roll off? They aren't round... Perhaps there should be a better word used to describe it... Oh well.

"Aha... I need to learn to tidy up. Sorry... I must be a burden..." "I have no feelings. So you cannot be a burden." "...I know... I know..." He looked down. "Maybe... I should go back to working on that emotion... Yeah..." I let him walk off while I stared after him.

_...Having emotions and being emotionless... They both provide benefits and consequences._

_Having emotions. I can be happy and understand other humans, but... My duty is to follow orders, destroy anyone in my way. Emotions prevent that. But being emotionless means I will be alone, no one to understand._

I looked down and walked out of the basement.

"It truly is strange..." I thought and pulled the chip I got from Ryota, staring at it. "...I'll just keep it. As a reminder..." I decided. 

_That's right._

_I shouldn't get attached or dependent on the chip or emotions I've experienced._

_This is me._

"Ooooooh Hajimeeee!!!!!" The voice made me twitch and switch on the call onto the screen. 

"...What do you want Junko."

"IIIIIIII WANNA BUUUURN THAT VILLAAAAAAGE!!!! IT'S TIIIIIME!!!"

I sighed. "If they got the letter but didn't follow it, then it's their mistake." I thought. "Alright." I simply said and switched her off. I looked up at the building and took a few steps back from it.

**Powering jumping power...**

It only took mere seconds for me to jump up to the top level of the building with only half of my power. "Woooo!!" I heard clapping and looked up, to see blonde hair and an unmistakable grin. 

"Hi Hajime~!!!"

........

She's strange. Even for me.

She was holding onto a lighter. "Shall we?" "........." "Not answering?!?!"

She kicked me over and stepped on my head, I was just staring at the floor, well, pressed up against it at the most. I knew I could kill her without any effort whatsoever. But I didn't dare do it, knowing what she would do. "I'll crush you you know! Over and over and over and over!!!!" 

.........

_It was a good thing I removed emotions._

Nagito's p.o.v.

We actually convinced my father. I was really happy and glad about it. Right now, I was watching everyone carrying their stuff and moving them to a rather large cave Kyoko found. I was amazed at the things she could find.

"HEEEEEEY EVERYONE!!!!!"

I shot up at the weird loud voice and turned to the left. It was a weird girl with blonde hair tied into twin ponytails and blue eyes. She was seated on top of...

_Robots..._

She was sucking on a lollipop, anyone could see that she was spoilt. She hopped down from those robots and smirked, throwing the lollipop stick away. "Wooo!! Everyone's ready for the light show!!!" She yelled. I glanced over and saw that everyone else except a few of us were hiding in that cave. "..Is this what Hinata-kun was trying to warn me about?" I thought. 

_"Oooookay!!! Hajimeee!!! It's tiiime!!!"_

My eyes widened as he emerged behind the robots. He laid eyes on me and blinked.

...Something's off... Where's the glow I saw in his eyes?

_"...Hinata-kun....?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/358615741-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-17


	18. Chapter 18

Hajime p.o.v.

I stared blankly at Komaeda. "Komae-"

**ERROR! ERROR! 5409 System has detected a contradictory order and master.**

I sighed. "Ignore." I whispered. "Hajime~ You know what to do~!!!" I looked over at Junko, who threw a lighter at me, which I swiftly caught. "......" I stared at Komaeda's village.

_"_ _H-Hinata-kun_ _...?"_

I glanced at Komaeda and the residences of the village, peeking out of that cave.

"....Him...or Komaeda...?"

**Error! Error! Confusion paradox problem detected!! Resolve immediately?**

"What would my computer suggest I wonder..." I thought. "Resolve immediately." I said.

**Understood. Processing...**

**_Best option: Protect the true Master. Take necessary protocols. Destroy and carry out expected orders._ **

"....I see. Well, I'm not surprised in the least bit." I thought. I turned to Komaeda.

_"Well. It's not as though we'll ever meet again."_

I flicked the lighter, making a flame burst to life. "Beautiful but dangerous. Huh."

_I threw the lighted lighter at the village._

Due to the fact that majority of the village was made from wood and straw, the fire spread extremely fast and soon, the entire place was engulfed in flames. "My house!!!" An old man rushed out of the cave to the fire. Junko pointed at him and another robot shot multiple bullets at him, he fell to the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. "......." I stared at the corpse. "...Humans are reckless..." I thought.

Everyone else were too afraid to come out of the cave, only Komaeda was standing there, tears steadily rolling down his face while he stared at me.

_"...Why...did you....?"_

I just looked at him. Junko glared at him.

_"Hajime... Don't you remember it?"_

I turned to face her. "What do you mean?" I asked. She laughed. "Come ON. Don't tell me you don't remember!" I shook my head.

_"He looks like that woman from the village we attacked a few years ago..."_

_I flinched._

*Flashback*

_A woman with long white hair and green eyes screamed, trying to dash away as the village burst in flames._

_I gripped the katana I found in my hand tightly._

_"Humans are truly fragile."_

_"Hajime~ There's one more in there~"_ _Junko_ _said, pointing to a house, still not fully burnt down. I nodded and went inside._

_The woman was backed up against a wall, but she smiled ever so slightly._

_"Aha... I'm glad I didn't ask my husband and son to accompany me..." She giggled._

_I lifted up the katana._

_"Target...."_

_"Really... I'm so glad..."_

_"Eliminated."_

_I swung the sword down, blood splattered everywhere, including my clothes and face._

_"...Messy. But the corpse should burn in this wreckage."_

_With that, I left, as though nothing had happened._

*Flashback end*

"Sooo... He must be the son right?? Come on! Kill him!" Junko urged, pushing me slightly. "........" I just stared at Komaeda, like I didn't hear her. "Hinata-kun...." "....I need a recharge." I said, turning away. "Eh?!?! Seriously?!" Junko looked at me, unhappy and whining. But nevertheless, she, carried by all those other robots, marched off while I followed behind.

_"Wait!!!"_

_I stopped in my tracks and turned to who had said that, Komaeda of course._

_"Why....?"_

_"Why what?"_

_"Why..did you burn down our village... A-And what did she mean...? What woman?!"_

_"........" I looked down._

_"...It's none of your business..."_

_"You...."_

_Suddenly, he marched over to me. Within seconds, he was right in my face. He almost looked intimidating, and for some reason, I felt...uncomfortable._

_"...You're...not the Hinata-kun I know..."_

_My eyes widened as he cried, hiccups coming over once in a while._

_"W-What did y-you *hic* do?! Give him b-back! I *hic* I miss Hinata-kun! G-Give him back!"_

_"........." I reached out and touched one of the tears._

_Instantly, due to my system's programming, I pulled away due to the contact of water._

_"Eh....?"_

_"...Bye."_

With that, I left Komaeda and followed quickly after Junko.

Nagito's p.o.v.

He left... Everyone else came out of the cave, trying to put out the fire and save what was left. I just stood there. "Nagito... Nagito!!!!" At last, I was snapped out of the cycle, by Kyoko slapping my face. It was painful but I needed it...

"Snap out of it." She scolded me. "I know... I just..." My mind was a blank, I don't think I can think properly. "I see... I think it all matches up now." I looked over at Makoto, who had a hand on his chin in a thinking stance. "Hajime was probably the one who sent us that e-mail. That would best explain the current situation." He said. "Y-You think so...?" "Yep. It's the most logical conclusion." Kyoko supported. "But... He was the one who set our village on fire in the first place. And... He..." I looked down.

"We can't jump to conclusions and say he's the enemy. We haven't heard his side of the story yet. And you forgot one detail, that girl with blonde hair was the one who threw that lighter to him. Since he's a robot, maybe she programmed him to do it, so he was forced to do it. Something like that." I nodded. Makoto did make a pretty good point. But I just...

"Ryota... What would happen if Hinata-kun takes out that chip you gave him?" I asked. He flinched and sighed.

_"The programming of the chip will still be in his systems, just hidden. It'll be fine at first, but if he ever encountered a huge emotional burden, like having to make a HUGE decision. The chip will automatically activate and disable his ability to make a choice, and completely rely on social and emotional relations. This will lead to major malfunction and he'll-"_

_He stopped._

_"He'll...short circuit..."_

_"_ _S-Short_ _circuit...?"_

_"In other words... He'll die."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/365917999-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-18


	19. Chapter 19

Nagito's p.o.v.

"H-He'll die...?" I couldn't believe that Ryota actually made a chip like that?! "And you actually knew this??" I asked in disbelief. "I gave him a choice, if he was willing to take the risk then fine. It would've been okay if he just kept the chip in... But judging by the way he was behaving, he definitely took it out." Ryota argued. "So.... What should we do now...?" Makoto asked, scratching the back of his head.

"For now, let's just focus on rebuilding our village. It might take a while. Even more so with the condition of the others." Kyoko said, pointing at all the depressed and terrified people.

_"We can't fight against robots."_

_"They burned down everything."_

_"We can't do anything..."_

I sighed unhappily. "Well... We did manage to save a few of the houses. You think some people can camp down in the lair or something?" I asked. Ryota shrugged. "I don't mind if they shelter down there." "Good." With that, we began ushering people to go around and find shelter.

_"You cannot go anywhere else do you understand me!??!"_

My dad was yelling stuff in my face like, "I knew we couldn't trust him!" "Now look at this!!" "How could you trust a stranger!! You're lucky we survived!!" 

"Dad shut up."

"What was that?!!?"

"I said. SHUT UP." I glared at him and stormed off. He has time to rub it in my face and not enough time to take care of the people. I rolled my eyes and walked off. "Nagito!!!" "Dude, you're wasting your time scolding me when you should be helping your people. You should've died instead of that other guy during the fire." I said, glaring at him.

I walked around, daydreaming to myself. Eventually, I wandered off to somewhere I recognized. I could hear the sounds of rushing water and looked up. It was as I expected, I wandered off to the waterfall me and Hinata-kun went to once. I sighed sadly. "...This..really sucks..." I sat down by the waterfall, my hands gently splashing around in the water. "There must be a reason why he's doing this right?" I thought, dreaming about. 

_............_

_I made my decision._

*That night*

I slept in the underground secret base along with a lot of others. As soon as I was sure everyone else was asleep, I got up, and prepared to leave. "Yo Nagito." I looked behind me and saw Ryota standing there.

_"You want to go to the robot world and find Hajime right?"_

I gulped. "...You won't...tell...will you...?" I asked nervously. He shook his head. "Nah. But take these." With that, he tossed me two weird mechanical round discs, one red and one blue. 

"Press the button on the red one and all robots within a meter radius will be temporarily disabled. The blue one shoots out water, but be careful cause it's limited." He explained like a genius, which he was. I smiled happily at him and went over, hugging him. "Thanks Ryota." "No problem. But one more thing. If you're in danger, attach both the red and blue discs together and it'll send a signal over to us, and even if I'm the only one going, I'll go over and help you. Kay?" I nodded and placed the discs inside my bag. "Got it. I'll see you in a bit." "Good luck Nagito!"

With that, I dashed off out of the burnt down village, ignoring the burnt ashes and scraps, running straight off to the forest where I found Hinata-kun and looked around. "Let's see here..." I ran off to where I thought he first came off to and eventually, I found it.

"Woooow...." I was... Well, amazed, and terrified. Everything was so...different. There were weird flashing lights everywhere. Err... Ryota told me...uhhh this is, neon lights right? Wow, I've heard they were bright but jesus! 

I stepped inside, and I realized something.

_There were robots. LITERALLY EVERYWHERE. And I MEAN. Everywhere!_

I was so shocked, I swear my eyes would've popped out of their sockets if I made them grow any wider. I whooshed quickly behind a white building as one passed by me. I heaved a heavy sigh and looked around. "How the hell am I supposed to get by all of them?" I thought, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. 

Just then, I saw something that made my blood run cold. 

There were... Well, I guess I have to call them humans, walking around. But...their heads were stuffed with these weird looking metal things... 

"T-This is so creepy..." I thought, shivering and shuffling through my bag for the discs Ryota gave. "Oh boy..." Suddenly, one robot saw me and its eyes turned red. "...Shit." I booked it through the area, trying to avoid as MANY robots as possible. Only five managed to spot me. I reached out and grabbed the red disc from my bag. "Time to say lights out robots!!" I said, turning around in an alleyway and pressing the button. All the robots shut off and clanged against the ground. "Phew..." I thought, turning around to see if there was anything else to see in alleyway. 

Just then, a huge iron pole was pointed in my face, making me squeal in surprise and fall back. "Waaah!!" I tried to defend myself, full of fear. 

_"What business do you have here?!"_

_What business do I-?! What?!?!_

I looked up, to see long black hair and red eyes. "What the- What?!?!" I was in utter disbelief. The boy in front of me squinted and peered closer to me, before pulling away, shocked. "Y-You-?! But how?!?! How'd you get away?!?!" "H-How'd I get away from what?!" "Junko!! The iron helmets!! How'd you stop yourself from getting brainwashed?!!" Okay he is throwing one too many questions at me!!!

"U-Uh... One question at a time please...?" I shuddered, slowly backing away from him. "And is this really the place to discuss this?" I asked, looking around. "Oh, right! Over here!" He gestured me over to a wall in the alleyway and took out some weird coin like object. My eyes widened.

_It...looks like the one me and Hinata-kun found at the waterfall..._

"Get in here come on!" He said, tugging my hand. I blinked and realized that there was now a big hole in the wall where the wall used to be. "A secret passage way...?" I thought. "I get it... That coin thing is a key..." I thought, eventually getting dragged by the stranger down to, well, wherever this passage led to. 

"Well... I suppose we could start with introductions... Wow, you're the first actual normal person I've seen in a LONG time." He exclaimed. "Uhh... Really...?" "Yeah! All I've seen are robots, robots, mind broken humans yaddayaddayadda...." He babbled on, I had to giggle slightly. "Well... Err... My name's Nagito Komaeda. I actually come from a village and-"

"Wait. Village...? You mean...you're from the surviving areas? Wow... That's lucky." He said, continuing going around in the darkness, I followed after him. "Well, not really. We were attacked by robots recently and-" "R-Recently..?" "Yeah..." ".....I see. Well, go off that. Why are you here?" "Hang on. You have to introduce yourself too. And why are you normal too? I've only been here for a few minutes but I already know this place is supposed to be infested with robots and humans wearing big metal things right??"

_"...Well, I suppose you can know..."_

_He swiftly turned to me and held out his hand._

_"I'm Izuru Kamakura. Pleasure to meet you!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/368000550-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-19


	20. Chapter 20

Nagito's p.o.v.

"O-Oh... I'm Nagito. Nagito Komaeda." I introduced myself. "Huh... I feel like I saw that name somewhere..." Izuru tapped his chin, thinking. "Uhh..." I didn't exactly know what to say. This was definitely the first time we've met. "Anyways, what're you doing here? It's unusual for someone from a surviving village to come here." Izuru said, gesturing me over to follow him.

When we finally reached the bottom, what a sight to behold! There were boxes and laptops everywhere! I had to scoot around to get around, but I still managed to bump into a few boxes. There were so many things everywhere, from metal parts to weird chips. So much futuristicy stuff I couldn't quite wrap my head around.

"Sorry for the mess. Ahh... I should've taken little brother's advice and cleaned up..." He groaned. I blinked. "You have a younger brother with you?" I asked, curious. "Ah! Well.... He's not really a brother I uhh..." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. 

_"I made him using the best AI and technology I had. And that's advanced with everything I have here. He's my best creation."_

"Wait... He's...a robot...?" I felt as if I was closing on him. "Do you have any kind of name for him?" I asked. "Eh? His name? Err... He told me to just call him 'Little brother' like I always did. But his real name that I gave him was..."

_"Hajime Hinata."_

I froze.

"Master. I have what you wante-" A big pile of boxes were dropped to the ground. "K-Komaeda...?" I looked over and changed to a serious expression. "Hinata-kun." It really was him. I never expected I'd find him so fast... I'm lucky.

"What... You know him little brother?!" Izuru pointed at me as he ran up to Hinata-kun. He glared at me and turned around. "Used to. I hid in a village and he was around me." ".....He definitely isn't the person I knew. He's acting way too cold. This isn't like Hinata-kun." I thought.

"Um... Izuru, can I...talk to him in private?" I asked. "Eh? Uh? Umm...." He thought about it and sighed. "Alright alright. But...make it short. And yell if anything happens, yell immediately okay?" "Understood." Hinata-kun nodded and followed me to the other room. 

Once we were alone, Hinata-kun crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "So... Why are you here? Are you mad? I assume normal humans to be." "........" I just stared at him. "Were you programmed this way? Were you forced?" "Wha-?!" "Were you threatened? What happened?" He just stared at me, stunned. "...What....?" "Ehehe... Am I asking too many questions?" I said, scratching the back of my head.

"N-No I just..." He looked away and sighed. "You are one weird human being..." He commented. "I know I know." "And you're stupid for coming here. You could be killed. No. You WILL be killed." I blinked. "W-Why?" "....Your family...is specially targeted because of a grudge Junko holds against your ancestors." "Who's Junko?" "That blonde haired girl you saw leading the other robots." "S-Seriously?" "Yes. I'm not sure of the details. But I think it had something about your ancestors killing her lover." "Oh jeez... And she's been holding that grudge since then? But.. Shouldn't she have died?"

"That's the thing. Junko's family is extremely rich. She found a way to make herself younger. And this is the result. She's actually about a 100 years old now. She's just... I dunno...." Hinata-kun explained, sighing. "But..." "Look. If you don't leave, you'll definitely die." I frowned at him and stood my ground.

_"I'm not leaving until you answer all my questions."_

He sighed and facepalmed. "Humans are such a bother. Fine. What questions?" He said, crossing his arms at me. "Who is that guy? Izuru I mean. What connections does he have to you? And what do you have to do with Junko?" He looked down.

"Izuru Kamakura was the world's best robotics scientist. He loved technology and tweaking with robots and machines. Junko killed off his family and forced him to work for her. He made those helmets everyone you saw was wearing, and just about every single robots you've seen. Junko stole his blueprints and threw him away. He hid away here, but all that guilt and scarring experiences made him feel trapped and alone. So he made me for company. It was small, but... I guess I was helping a bit. He enjoyed me being around, and he treated me like how a sibling would."

_"I guess you could say he 'loved' me. Whatever that was."_

"However, years later, Junko found us, and tried to kill Izuru. He panicked and ordered me to kill off the attacking robots. I was already programmed with the knowledge of Izuru being my creator and how I had to protect him. So I did. Unfortunately, Junko took advantage of it and threatened to kill Izuru if I didn't follow her orders. So I had to follow her every order no matter what."

"But... Can't you just kill Junko?" I asked. Hinata-kun shook his head. "You don't get it. Izuru has a collar strapped around his neck, if I disobey Junko, she'll shock him, and he admits how painful it is. So I made sure not to let her shock him. And...if Junko dies... Not only will all her robots go to attack us, the shock collar will administer poison instead." My eyes widened. "Yes. You can now clearly see how high the odds were stacked against us." He sighed. "Is that all?" "No."

"What?" "Why'd you burn down our village?" I asked. "Junko ordered me to." "N-No I mean, if she had a grudge on us, why didn't you kill me when I first found you?" I was honestly quite curious...

Hinata-kun sighed irritably. "It was...a failed attempt. Izuru tried to save me by helping me escape. He managed to block off most of my connections with Junko, so she couldn't figure out where I was. And... Izuru tried to delete my memories to prevent me from coming back, but that failed. Which led to now." He explained again. I sighed sadly. 

"Hinata-kun... You have your memories back right? So why aren't you killing me now?" I asked. "....I don't do unnecessary killing unless Master is in danger. That's all." He replied. "..But-" "Ohhhhh Hajime~~" His eyes suddenly widened and he shoved me into the corner of the room, plunging me into a pile of boxes, burying me under it. "Hey-! Wha-?!" "Shhh!!! Don't make a sound or you're dead!" He snapped and turned away. 

I was completely buried under those boxes and could only peek out of one of the gaps among the boxes. Then... 

 _She_  came.

 _Junko Enoshima._  

I only barely managed to stop myself from shouting out loud. "What do you want Enoshima?" Hinata-kun asked, crossing his arms. "Haaaah, Hajime~ At least a lil huuug??" She said, pouncing on him, he moved out of the way, making her crash into the wall. "Awww!!!" She whined, stomping one foot on the ground and pouting like a child.

_"Come oooon!! You did such a great job slaughtering that woman! Go for the son next! Then that retch of a man with the blood that killed my love will taste the worst despair of having his wife and his son die!!!"_

_My brain stopped for a moment, processing what she just said._

_"Woman...? My father...? Son and wife...?"_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"Hinata-kun...killed my mother...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plooot twist! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/369850998-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-20


	21. Chapter 21

Nagito's p.o.v.

I could feel myself bite down on my lip hard. Until blood seeped into my mouth.

"Hinata-kun... You're not Hinata-kun... He wouldn't..."

Ryota's explanation shot through my mind.

_"Hajime never had emotions in any events before this. The only reason he even behaved differently to you, and nicer probably in your opinion, is because of the chip I gave him. He can do anything and everything without a seconds hesitation. And he'll do it again without the chip."_

....It's no surprise if Hinata-kun killed my mother under those circumstances along with everything he's told me earlier...

But... H-He couldn't kill anyone... I don't understand... 

Once Junko went away, I got out from the boxes. Hinata-kun turned to me and sighed. "If you're smart, you've figured out the things I've done." He said, with a straight face. I curled my hand into a fist, wanting to punch him. My face felt wet, I was crying.

I swung my fist at him, but he caught it and pushed it towards me. "Komaeda. Ryota should've told you what I'm capable of. And what I'll do as you carry the blood of the one Junko holds a grudge against. I'm under her control after all, as you should know already." He said coldly.

_"This isn't a place for human beings to exist. Especially you. Leave now. If we meet again. It'll be your last."_

_Hinata-kun's voice was harsh and emotionless._

_Shivers went down my spine, and my heart ached more than before._

_I ran out like my life depended on it, I just kept running, shoving the robots out of the way, kept going even though my lungs and feet hurt like hell._

_"There's no point anymore."_

Ryota's p.o.v.

I paced back and forth in worry. "I'm worried. What should I do? What's going to happen?!" All I could think of was Nagito's state and well being. 

Suddenly, I saw a small white haired bob come though, but it fell over not long after and I gasped. "Guys! I think I saw Nagito! Come on come on!!" I shouted, running over. Sure enough, it was Nagito. He was lying face first on the ground, exhausted.

_"What happened...?"_

I hurriedly dragged him over to the others. "Guys we need help!!" I yelled. Quite a number of people gathered and at once started fussing over Nagito, helping him. There was only one question on my mind...

_"What happened?"_

*A few days later*

Nagito's father exited the house, closing the door behind him. Me, Kyoko and Makoto were waiting anxiously for his answer, but he merely shook his head. I sighed sadly.

It's been four whole days and he still hasn't come out of that room. He hasn't eaten much, not that we've seen him. After the doctor helped him with his fatigue, he stayed in his house and locked himself in there. Even his dad could convince him to come out to eat or something. "What should we do?" I asked. "What CAN we do... Something happened when he left, and we don't know. So he's the only one who can recover from whatever happened." Kyoko deduced. We all sighed. "Well, I'll keep leaving some food outside here for him." His father said. We nodded and left.

Nagito's p.o.v.

I stared at the wall of the attic Hinata-kun used to stay in. I went off to the center of the room and lied flat there on my back, staring at the ceiling. 

_My mind just...wandered off...._

_I didn't really know what to think anymore so I wondered to myself._

_"Hinata-kun has an evolving AI right...? So, he should think differently depending on what's happened. Junko had a grudge on my family from forever ago. He's basically a slave to her..."_

_Something clicked inside me._

_"Hinata-kun should've regained all his 'data' on the last day he was with us... So..."_

_"...Why didn't he kill me...?"_

_He had so many chances to kill me..._

_Killed me during his last day at the village, killed me when he set fire to the village, killed me when I went to the robotic place._

_He had...so many chances... There wasn't anything stopping him, and it would've definitely please Junko no matter what..._

_Why didn't he killed me...?_

_............_

_I got up and grabbed a small white chalk and started scribbling on the walls of the attic room._

_I wrote..._

_And wrote...._

_All the possible things that could've happened between me and Hinata-kun._

_"There no denying it... He should've killed me..."_

_I frowned, getting up._

_"We need to stand up against Junko now..."_

I left the house and walked to my father's house, pushing past the swarm of people who kept questioning me. 

I only had one thing on my mind. Gather the surviving village people and fight.

I went to my father, who kept wanting to hug me and say how glad he was. I pushed him away and shushed him. 'Dad. I have something important to discuss with you." I said sternly. He raised an eyebrow at me and guided me to sit at the table to discuss the matter. "Are you stupid?!?! Look at what the robots did to our village!! Nearly half the place is destroyed!!!" He yelled at me. I kept my composure. "Yes. But that's because the odds were stacked against us. I know their weakness and it can be done." "The robots will kill us all!!" "They're not invincible, dad. They can be destroyed." I debated with him for quite a number of hours, but I made the logical points while he just screamed stupid hopeless situations. 

Eventually, he gave up and agreed to me. "Alright. I'll try to convince the other villages around to help the conflict... I guess. But you're in charge!" Heh. Was he even trying to make a point?

_"I always was, you bozo."_

I hurried off to find the alleyway where Ryota was and found him. "Ryota! I need your help for a sec..." I said once I saw him. He was leaning against the alleyway wall, tampering with the discs he gave to me earlier. He must've took them back. He looked up at me. "Hm?" "I need you to make more enhanced versions of your discs. The ones to stop robots." "Oh I see. Hm... It'll take some time but...why do you need them?" He asked, tilting his head at me. 

"Well... I think it's about time we showed those robots what humans can do right?" I said, smiling. His eyes widened for a bit but he soon grinned. "Alright then! I'll try my best buuut I'll need some help..." He looked at me. "M-Me-?!" I stared at him in disbelief. "I can invite Kyoko and Makoto to help as well and don't worry, I can teach you how to make these." Ryota explained, holding up the discs.

I was still a little unsure, but I agreed anyways. The more people, the faster we can make the discs and the more too. "A-Alright..." "Awesome!" With that, he dragged me off to the secret base and tossed a bunch of weird materials that I didn't recognize. "What's all this?" I asked. "Materials. To make the discs. Here, these blueprints show you their structure and then...."

*A few hours later*

This was so confusing... But...I think I was getting the hang of it. Once you knew which tools were for which parts and where to put everything, then you start getting the gist of things. "Like this?" I said, screwing on the bolt to one of the discs. "Uhh yeah! And then latch this wire here and-" Makoto and Kyoko were helping us too, although, they definitely knew a little more about it than me...

We had made about a sixty discs now. I forgot what time it was now, but I was pretty hungry. "Hey guys, can we take a small break?" I offered. They all nodded, putting down the stuff and we all walked out. We ended up just taking some porridge since the food was a bit scarce. Even though my stomach was screaming for food, I really didn't have that much of an appetite...

I put down the spoon, sighing. "Ah Nagito..." Kyoko stopped Makoto as I left the place we were eating in.

I looked over the damage the fire did to my village up on a hill. I sighed sadly and sat there on the lush grass. Just then, I felt someone else's presence and looked over. "Oh hey Ryota." I said, watching as he sat next to me. "Hi. I see what you're looking at. Fire's quite deadly huh?" He commented. I merely looked down at the grass, thinking.

"Hey... Nagito..." He placed a hand on my shoulder. I sighed sadly. "I don't know much about robots or AI... I don't know how Hinata-kun thinks. I'm just-" I sighed sadly at my confusion and rant. Ryota smiled softly. 

_"Okay. I need to tell you something real quick. Hajime definitely runs on probably, extremely efficient or the best AI around. But no matter how great an AI is. It always processes its options with reasons. That means that Hinata-kun did all the things he did with a reason. Okay?"_

_What he said comforted me a little and I smiled._

_"Yeah...."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! You know, it's pretty hard for me to read and try to understand AI. It's so weird. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/375349090-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-21


	22. Chapter 22

Nagito's p.o.v.

It worked...

I...really didn't think it would work but...this is fantastic!

There was a meeting just now with the other surviving villages. It was long but I finally managed to convince the majority to agree with me, to attack the robot world. I just came out of the area, relieved.

"How'd it go?" Ryota asked, leaning against the door. I smiled happily at him. "It went extremely well! I got most of them on my side!" I said happily. He gave a thumbs up. "Well, we have lots of work to do, We still have lots of machines and things to make and stuff." He said. 

*A few days later*

It was long and hard to complete everything. I lifted my hands and stared at them, they were all wrinkly and bruised because of all the tinkering and fixing of the creation of all those machines. "You alright?" Makoto asked, peeking over my shoulder to look at my hands. "Yeah I'm alright. Just glad we finally managed to make enough of those gadgets for everyone..." "Yeah, it was good that some other people offered their help. It sped up the production." "Mmhmm."

I looked down, frowning. "It won't be long... You think we'll never meet again. But I'll make sure that won't happen." I thought. I went back to my slightly burnt house, it wasn't as bad as the others as it was far away from the other houses. I went straight up to the secret attic and stayed there, staring out the window. 

_"Hinata-kun..."_

I sighed, slumping on the bed. "I'm exhausted... I need to get some sleep... Tomorrow's a big day. It's THE day. I'm going to solve all my issues. I'm going to end this once and for all." I thought, slowly drifting to sleep. 

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared at the sky. Over here, it isn't easy to see the stars because of all the skyscrapers and buildings. I sighed unhappily. "I wish I could see the stars properly. There's no point in doing this if I can't see any stars ughhh...." I processed. I got up from the ground and went around. It was absolutely silent, no one else was out here, but it was no surprise whatsoever. I stepped back into the secret basement where Master was.

"Ah! Little brother! Where have you been?" He turned to me, stopping whatever he was doing on his computer. "Trying to look at the stars." I said. He raised an eyebrow at me. "Uh... Okay?" I walked past him, but I heard him mumble something along the lines of: "That's weird... Your program shouldn't have found a reason to even try looking at the stars..." I twitched and made a mental note to keep my systems in check.

"Battery check..."

**"Battery is currently at 20%. Do you wish to activate backup power supply?"**

"No."

I slumped down on my bed that was in the deeper parts of the base. "Another day.... Another completely predictable day..." I mumbled, shutting off my systems. 

Izuru's p.o.v.

I sighed in frustration, chewing slightly at the tip of my pen. "What the heck is all this coding... I don't get it. It shouldn't be here..." There was some kind of strange disruption in Hajime Hinata's systems. It didn't seem to affect him THAT much, but I knew something changed. And I honestly didn't know if he was aware of it, or if it was physically affecting him or what?! I didn't even know whether or not I liked the change cause it just kinda....

_Made him...a little more human-like..._

"I wonder who imported such an interesting mechanism... It's so complicated, but it seems imperfect..." I thought, examining it a little more. My eyes widened when I realized the flaw.

_"...Looks like I'll be staying up a little longer..."_

*Next morning*

Hajime's p.o.v.

I opened my eyes, my systems bleeping signals I had full battery. I got out of the room and looked around, only to see Master laying on the table, sleeping soundly. "Did he stay up all night last night?" I wondered. "What was he even doing?" I thought and went to get a blanket to cover him. "He should rest some more to fully regain his energy." I concluded and walked out of the base. 

"Same day same day." I sighed and continued walking the streets. "Oi dickhead-! Get to my base I gotta mission for ya!" I heard Junko shout through my speakers. "Alright alright my God..." I covered my ears slightly because of her yelling. I went over to her ginormous tower. "Why must she make it so big jeez..." I thought and jumped all the way up there.

"Alright Junko what do you want?" I asked, crossing my arms at her. "Juuuust wanna hang out with my perfect robot killer~~" I rolled my eyes as she skipped over to me and embraced me tightly. I didn't bother moving, if I did she'd either scold me or keep chasing me. "Don't you love your lover?" I asked. She twitched and glared up at me, but then proceeded to smirk. "Come on~ Don't be so sour~" "Your flirtations don't work against me Junko."

She pouted unhappily. "Mmmm come on~" Soon after, she was basically just cuddling up to me. 

_Not lying. This is uncomfortable and disturbing on so many levels._

"Junko. Get off." I said sharply, tugging her off me. "Why have you called me? If this is the only reason then I will take my leave." I said, crossing my arms. Junko pouted unhappily. "Fine! Leave you ungrateful brat!!!" "How can I be ungrateful if I've never been grateful to you in the first place?" I asked, hopping away. I didn't wait for her answer though due to seeing something strange upon the horizon.

"Nothing should be here. Nothing ever was." I thought, frowning and going to the area. My eyes widened at the sight.

It was a whole gang of people, charging towards the city like those angry mobs and stuff what the hell?! But that wasn't what interested me.

_What interested me was who was in front, leading everyone else._

_It was Komaeda. How curious._

_I stood at the entrance, it wasn't long until he came up to me._

_He had a serious expression on his face and he had a strange disc-like object in his hands._

_I merely stared at him._

_"So. Are you planning to annihilate everything here?" I asked._

_He frowned and shook his head._

_"I'm ending this. Today. No more doubts about anything."_

_"...How noble."_

_...You are such an idiot. Komaeda Nagito._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/383154536-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-22


	23. Chapter 23

Nagito's p.o.v.

I frowned, staring eye-to-eye at Hinata-kun. He stared down at the disc in my hands and sighed. "So be it then." He then stepped back, only to make way for several HUGER robots with machines gun arms. 

_"See you."_

Hinata-kun turned and walked away. I clicked my tongue. "Everyone! Be careful and hold out your shields!!"  
I warned. "Alright-!" Makoto was really worried and kind of cowarding behind his shield. Suddenly, the robots started shooting like heavy machine guns. "Oh fu-" I ducked and dodged. 

"Dang it.... I need to get past these robots... But, how can I get close? I need to go after Hinata-kun." I needed to think of a way to get past them. "Oh God... How the hell...?" I was struggling to think through this before getting an idea. "Kyoko! Can you spray the robots so they spin around?" I shouted over. She stared at me a bit weirdly but then understood and got Ryota in it too.

They both sprayed the front robot in the center right in the side, and it became imbalanced and started spinning round and round and round, and since it was still shooting that huge machine gun, it hit the other robots and all of them fell down with sparks spluttering out. "YUS." I cheered, running in. "Alright everyone, scatter but don't go alone! Take out any robot that attacks! Charge at will!!!" I shouted. Everyone followed and ran in.

I watched carefully. Everyone was managing the robots well with the devices, which was great! But I knew destroying the empire and the soldiers weren't enough. We had to take out the leader, the head.

_I had to get Junko._

I frowned and ran off to one of the bigger buildings. It looked like a proper building for some kind of supreme leader, if my theory of Junko being a snobby brat was right, this would definitely be her choice of architecture. I ran towards the building and looked up at it. "That is so freaking tall holy shit." I thought, my eyes wide. 

Just then, my disc bleeped and I pressed the button in the center, bringing up a small hologram of Ryota. "Hey, I see this huge building and it kinda stands out so I thought-" "I know, I'm already standing in front of it, but I have no idea how to get up there." I explained, cutting through his sentence. "Oh.... Uhhh let's see here." I saw him do something with the disc as his face bleeped off, only to come back a moment later.

"Okay, there's a ladder at the side, but... It's a really high way up and there's no protection to stop your fall, are you sure you wanna climb it?" He asked. I nodded. "Good luck then. It's somewhere at the east side of the building." With that, his hologram went away and I packed the disc into my sash. 

I stared up at the REALLY tall building and shivered. It was so tall and horrifying and scary. But I gulped down my fear and gripped on the metal bars, beginning to climb the ladder.

*Later*

I was almost halfway up the ladder, but it was so tiring. My hands and forehead were all sweaty and I really felt like letting go, but I knew I would plummet to death if I did. And because the building was so high, I had to breath heavily due to the lack of oxygen. 

"It hurts really badly... Oh God..." My breathing grew unnatural and hard.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was up in Junko's tower, looking down at all the robots and people. "Curious. They finally discovered ways to disable the robots. I wonder if they will kill everything there." I processed ideas in wonder. "Strange is it not...." I thought about it for a while.

That is, until I heard a weird clanking noise and blinked. "Hm?" I went over to an old door, the clanking noise could still be heard. I opened the door. It was nothing but skies and I looked down, it was a ladder. "Some kind of emergency exit perhaps?" I wondered about it.

Just then, I looked downwards and noticed a small blob of white hair peeping on the ladder. I blinked for a brief moment, then my eyes widened. "K-Komaeda-?! What the-?!" I just stared down at the crazy boy. I adjusted my eye systems to zoom in on him. He seemed extremely tired and breathless.

Suddenly, my systems started beeping loudly at the dangerous sight. Now, my AI systems were smart, they knew that Komaeda was a human with properties that made it easy for him to die. In this scenario, my AI processed that no matter what, if Komaeda were to let go of that ladder, he would definitely die. But why was I even processing this? It would make more sense if Master was there.

_But this was just Komaeda._

I just stared down at him. Eventually, he sensed that someone was watching him and looked up at me. He smiled for some reason and tried to get up here faster. I just kept staring at him.

Komaeda extended one hand to me. He was almost up here. Did he expect me to help him? That's stupid. I wouldn't want any connections with him anymore anyways. It would be good if he died.

_Suddenly, his grip on the ladder slipped._

_Before anything I could process, I was already leaning forward, holding onto his wrist._

_"....What...?" I blinked, trying to adjust my eyesight and focus properly._

_"Why am I-? What?!" I tried letting go._

_Suddenly, my systems started bleeping extremely loudly._

**_"_ _ACCESS DENIED. ACCESS DENIED. ACCESS DENIED."_ **

_My hands simply tightened on his wrist and Komaeda's face was of pure terror of death._

Unable to do anything else since my God damned systems wouldn't let me let go of him, I pulled him up.

Komaeda panted heavily, after having gone through that traumatic experience. I just looked at my hand and tried to process what happened. "Malfunction? Reaction? Or what?" I was wary and confused, my systems seemed to have returned to normal.

"C-Can I...?" I looked over to Komaeda, who had scooted closer to me, shaking in fear. I just stared at him. "Weak." I looked away. Just then, warm arms wrapped around me and I looked over. 

_Komaeda was hugging me. Head pressed against my chest._

_"........"_

_Humans. So fragile and weak. Tch._

_I patted his head, he nuzzled._

_Oh well._

_"Little brother. I'm not always gonna be here. When I'm gone, you'll still be here. When that happens, can you promise to protect someone else? Find someone else okay?"_

_"....Alright."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/387050520-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-23


	24. Chapter 24

Nagito's p.o.v.

This really scared me. I hate this thing. I clinged onto Hinata-kun in fear, I almost opened death's door, but I didn't thanks to him. 

"...Why'd you help me... You're supposed to be on Junko's side right?" I mumbled. "........" He stayed silent. "...Hey Hinata-kun.... It's pretty wrecked up back at my village, but we're rebuilding it. It'll be fine." He looked down at me. "What are you talking about?"

_"....Hinata-kun... Let's go home."_

Hajime's p.o.v.

I blinked and looked down at Komaeda. Is he dumb? My systems processed. "...I find no reason for me to go along with you." I said. Komaeda sighed. "I see." "Last chance. Call off everything and go back to your village." I said. He shook his head. "No."

I pushed him off me as my systems rang out. I answered it, making sure Komaeda was quiet. It was Junko. "Hey bot! You see what's going on right?!" "Of course I see it. Is there something you want me to do?" I asked. She sighed in frustration. 

"Nah. These idiots should be easy to take out with my robots!" She proclaimed. I frowned. "...They have countermeasures." I said. "WHAT?!!?" "Not so tough huh." "M-Make sure you kill them all." "And why should I do that?"

_"You know what I'll do if you question my orders."_

I twitched and switched her off, sighing and processing my options. Komaeda stared at me. "What happened?" He asked. I shrugged. "You do what you will. I'm done dealing with you." I said, getting up. He stared at me, stunned as I walked away from that room.

I walked around the tower, searching for Junko. Eventually, I found her sitting in the main hall. She seemed a little panicky, as soon as she saw me, she raced over. "Well? Did you get rid of them?!" She shouted. "I saw no reason and I daren't go close to those humans when they have water." I said. She sighed in frustration. "Of COURSE your AI would think that." Junko smacked her forehead. "Don't see why she has a problem." I thought.

I sat in the room absentmindedly, not bothering about Junko's panic. Honestly, should she not be more mature for being over a hundred years old now? I searched through my systems to check on Master.

Strangely, he wasn't in the secret base. Perhaps he went out? Not that I needed to worry. I'm pretty sure those humans couldn't kill him after realizing he's pretty much the only sane human there.

Suddenly, I heard a door open and twitched, praying it wasn't the first conclusion my systems came to to figure out which door that was. I turned around.

"God fucking damn it." I cursed under my breath.

It was Komaeda. He was gripping a strange disc in his hands. My eyes widened when I realized that was the thing the others used to disable the other robots. I got up and backed up away from him.

He seemed to notice my behavior and held out a hand. Is he trying to say he means no harm or something? "Don't worry. I won't use it on you. Just...being cautious of other robots." He said, looking around. I sighed and just stood there, watching him carefully.

_Right at that moment, Junko walked in._

I froze when she saw us both.

"Hajime... You damned robot." She said through gritted teeth.

Junko pointed at Komaeda with fuming eyes.

_"Kill him. Do it now." She said, taking out a gun from her pocket and tossing it at me, I swiftly caught it of course._

_"Kill him. Or I'll kill your Master. You better kill the son. The last heir. You better...!!!" She screamed._

_I stared at the gun and looked up at Komaeda, who barely seemed afraid._

_He just stared at me, and he..._

_He smiled happily._

_Komaeda extended one hand to me, still smiling._

_"Hinata-kun. Let's go home alright?"_

I narrowed my eyes at him and pointed the gun at his head, aiming it carefully. 

Suddenly, my screens and vision blurred out and screeched, turning scratchy. I couldn't focus properly. "What the-?!" I felt dizzy and shook my head, trying to get rid of this feeling. I didn't understand. 

The feeling didn't go away.

_Not until I lowered the gun._

I looked up at Komaeda who smiled slightly. "...I guess I know a little more about your systems than you do yourself huh?" He said. "..Did you sabotage my systems?" I asked. He shook his head. "No. I didn't do anything. It just happened. It happened long ago already." Komaeda's explaining is not helping me. "Explain more." I said. I made sure Junko didn't try anything. I'm sure she was curious as well.

"It's pretty easy to be honest. It just happened when I found you and I confirmed it with Ryota and Izuru." He explained. 

"Your memories were wiped when we first met. You didn't know who I was. You didn't know that Izuru made you. You didn't know anything. Your systems thought you were just built." He said.

_"Hence, it registered the first person you scanned as your Master without your knowledge."_

I processed that. Well... It made sense to some extent. "So that's why I can't kill you. Yet anyways." I said. Komaeda nodded. "Yeah. But.." He looked down. "You have two masters now and well.... Who're you gonna choose?" He asked solemnly. "Huh..." I wondered.

_And wondered._

_And processed._

_And thought even more._

_"Humans..."_

_"They have strange thought processes."_

_"I dislike it. A lot."_

_I held the gun up to Komaeda's head again._

_Me or Izuru. I don't mind either choice._

_Komaeda smiled._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_I turned and shot Junko._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/392106127-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-24


	25. Chapter 25

****Nagito's p.o.v.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_He missed._

I stared at Hinata-kun, whose hand trembled immensely with the gun. "...Beep beep. Beep." I heard strange beeping noises coming from him and he lowered the gun, holding his head. "Errors.... Ugh." He cussed. Junko started laughing hysterically. "So you can't seem to choose huh? Well, that's a shame cause my robots don't wait." She said, clicking her fingers.

Army robots surrounded the area and I shuddered. "Oh no...." I was scared and held up the discs in defense. "You gonna choose or what?" She asked, crossing her arms in anger. "He can't choose. His systems won't let him make a choice." I thought. I don't want to persuade him, it would just confuse him even more, and that's the last thing I need right now.

So I just sat there, holding up my discs and humming. "You can flip a coin if you want Hinata-kun. Just make a choice if you want." I stayed there, smiling.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I wish Komaeda would shut up. I can't think properly when he was behaving like this. Even with his looks, the way he smiled. But Izuru and... ARGHHHH!!! This was jamming my systems, and I couldn't think. I sighed, letting the gun drop to my side. "Systems processing.... System error. System-" "Ugh. Stop processing." I said, knocking my head.

_I hate this. All of it._

Just then, I looked down at the shell necklace around me and pulled it out. "....You..gave this to me. Right?" I asked. Komaeda smiled and nodded happily. "Glad you still remember!" He got up and went up to me. Junko frowned and also marched over.

Nagito's p.o.v.

Junko snatched up the necklace. "The hell is this?!?!" She yelled. "He'll still be hesitant as long as it's-" "As long as it's around?! All fixed then!!" Junko suddenly ripped off the necklace from Hinata-kun's neck and smashed it to the ground, crushing it with her foot. "There we go! Now you can kill him!!" She was smirking. God, for someone who's above 100 years old, she's really naive and stupid.

But that didn't mean I wasn't afraid or upset.

I looked over at Hinata-kun, who stared down at the shattered bits of the necklace and back up to Junko. Was that...

_Tears...?_

He just tilted his head and touched the water flowing down his cheeks. "...My systems can't understand why this is happening..." He said slightly, the beeping was restless, I almost wanted to laugh. But I walked closer to him and wiped off the tears with my sleeve. "There. No more fear of malfunctions. Right?" I said. Hinata-kun nodded quietly and looked back at Junko, who was infuriated with what was going on.

"That's it! I'm ending this foolish nonsense myself!!!" She hastily grabbed out a gun and aimed it at me, I panicked. But, Hinata-kun pulled me away quickly to protect me from the gun fires. "Be careful. She's lost patience." He said. "And I'm losing time to progress and think." He added.

I didn't like this dragging out for so long, not because I was impatient, but because I knew the longer this carried on, the more confused and unhappy Hinata-kun would be, pondering over his choices. "Hinata-kun, do you...want to talk about it somewhere else?" I asked, trying to dodge more bullets. That woman was firing like a fucking madman! Or woman! I don't know!

Eventually, Hinata-kun dragged me over to another room, bolting the doors behind us. "Phew...." I thought, catching my breath. "Well, what now? There's only two options. I can't choose." He admitted. I was nervous but...

Being alone with Hinata-kun was strangely calm, despite the situation. 

I crept closer to him and smiled brightly. "Ehm... Komaeda?" He said, tilting his head at me. I looked down slightly and sighed. "I don't mind any choice you make but, just wanted..."

_I leaned in closer and pressed my lips on his._

Hinata-kun's eyes widened and he stared at me when I pulled away. "...What..?" He just stared at me. His lips were pretty cold, but it was warm to me, even though my lips felt numb from that. 

_"Is it bad to have feelings for a robot?"_

Hinata-kun tilted his head at me. "...Maybe?" Was his answer. I shrugged. "Well, you know my feelings now at least right?" I chuckled lightly. "I'm just confused." He confessed. "I know." "Now I really can't make a choice." "Oh... Does that make you mad?" "I can't feel." "O-Oh... Right..."

I wasn't feeling as confident as before and felt nervous. "Honestly speaking, you care for both me and Izuru don't you?" I asked. "..........." 

Suddenly, pounding was heard from the other side of the door and I jolted in surprise. "Oh no." The door got busted down, revealing Junko and swarms of army robots. She came up to me and smirked, backing me up against a wall. Hinata-kun just stared on, not moving from his position. 

Junko crept closer and wrapped her hands around my neck, trying to chock me. "Ack-!!!" She was pinning me to the wall and I knew how much she hated me, trying to choke me like that. "H-H-" I couldn't even say anything, it hurt a lot and I was wincing in pain. "G-Gh-" Air, I need air.

_"BANG!"_

Blood splattered around as the girl in front of me fell limp to the ground.

_I blinked. Once. Then twice. Then three times._

_"H-He shot her...? For real this time?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking to myself: "Man, you guys will hate me for this." Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here:


	26. Chapter 26

Nagito's p.o.v.

I blinked, looking up at Hinata-kun, who was staring blankly at me with the gun pointed at me, but it had already fired. He looked down at Junko's body and walked over to me. "Why did you...?" It was too shocking for me to handle. I didn't think it'd affect me until it actually happened. "Why are you so surprised? I thought you would be happy that I didn't kill you." He said, tilting his head at me. "Y-Yeah but..." "But what? If you're not satisfied then do what you wish with her. Don't you want revenge?" "No I-I don't... I just..." He stared at me, waiting for an answer, but I knew I wouldn't be able to give him one. These emotions were complex, I didn't understand them.

Suddenly, I heard loud beeping and buzzing sounds and looked up. The robots around us were flashing lights and beeping. "What the-?!" "...We should go. This place will collapse." "H-Huh?! Why??" "Because Junko is dead. This fortress is only here to please her. Once she dies, this place has no reason to exist. So it will collapse." Hinata-kun explained. "The robots will not leave though. What do you want me to do with them?" He asked. "Eh? Erm, y-you can just leave them! I-I' sure they won't-" "That isn't possible. They will definitely attack you." 

Suddenly, Hinata-kun plunged his hand into one of the robots that charged at me and ripped out the wires inside it. It clanged against the floor. "Like that. Now let's go. It takes quite some time for this fortress to collapse. But it does not mean we can linger. Come on." Hinata-kun suddenly picked me up bridal style and ran off. "Ah-! Hinata-kun?! What are you doing?!" I squealed at the sudden change. "Carrying you. Humans like you have stamina. It will slow us down. And that's bad." He simply said. 

"........" I looked away as he held me.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was just running down the stairs. It would be risky to jump down from this height with Komaeda with me. I remained silent. But he didn't seem to talk to me as well. 

"...Hinata-kun..."

I kept running.

_"...Am I a nuisance?"_

_I suddenly stopped._

_"I don't understand."_

_"Do I trouble you?"_

_"What?"_

_"I..made things hard for you to decide..."_

_"......"_

_"Didn't I make you kill Izuru...? "_

"...We haven't seen his body yet. It's fine." I said. He just remained silent. "If this is supposed to make you feel happier, I have no feelings towards death. Therefore you do not have to assume I will feel bad towards Izuru's death." I said. "..I don't like that." Komaeda pouted, looking away. "Why?" I tilted my head at him. "It reminds me. Reminds me you're not human." "You already know that fact. Why are you surprised?" I asked. "I don't like you being a robot.. That's the only way I can explain it to you." He said.

"If you dislike me, why are you with me?" I asked. "I...just wanted to see you again." "Why is that?" "....Do you remember when I kissed you?" I halted again after walking for a bit during our previous conversation. "Yes. It's already in my database." I answered. "....Do you know what it means to kiss someone?" ...That was an odd question.... I scrolled through answers for that question for a conclusion. "Hmm...."

"....You kiss someone as some kind of sign of mutual attraction?" That was what I got anyways. But knowing Komaeda, that was probably wrong. So I was surprised to look down and see Komaeda's face turn all pink and tilted my head. "What?" "D-Do you know...w-what it's like to be attracted to someone?" "............"

_You are forgetful. I've never felt anything."_

Komaeda looked away.

"R-Right..."

*Later*

We stepped out of the building, watching the surrounding buildings of this crazed utopia Junko made for herself crumble. I will say, despite being so God forsaken old, she is hella stupid making everything here connected to her. Though it was convenient to some extent. I wouldn't have to see such an out of place structure once everything broke down, and it was convenient to Komaeda and the others as well.

Of course, it didn't mean I didn't know what was to come. A gun was pointed in my face by none other than Komaeda's father. How irritating. I knew that even if I was made from metal, the distance the gun was from my head is dangerous. If he pulled the trigger, the bullet would break in through the metal and rip out vital wires. It's definitely dangerous. Still, after a thorough analysis on typical human behavior, this was utterly unsurprising.

"You...MONSTER!!!!" "Dad no!" Oops. I forgot I had let go of Komaeda a while ago. Guess now he came in. He stood firmly in front of me with his arms out, blocking his father from getting anywhere close to me. I didn't say anything. "Why are you still defending him?! Do you even know what he's done?!" "Yes I do. But it doesn't matter anymore!!" "Your MOTHER doesn't matter to you?! He killed her!!" "DAD." Now I was interested and looked up at Komaeda. He has never been this stern to me before.... What an interesting set of personalities he has.

Komaeda's father fell silent and looked at his son. "Dad. Do you really think it'd be nice to kill Hinata-kun? There's no point filling thirst for revenge. Mom's already dead..." He explained. His father just seemed to get angrier. "I just want to see him DEAD."

_"And then what?"_

Komaeda actually look hurt and disappointed, like he no longer had expectations of anything for his dad. "Are you so far gone that you don't even care about life or death? Do you not even care about what I think anymore? ....You've never changed. And never will." He said coldly. I smirked. So this was a strong example of manipulating people's feelings to your advantage. 

_But...._

_I turned over to look around a few times, but he wasn't here. Of course he isn't. There's no way he's alive anymore._

_"Erm.... Little Brother?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/405100462-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-26


	27. Chapter 27

Nagito's p.o.v.

I blinked.

"No way." I looked over and gasped. 

_It was Izuru. He was completely fine...._

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming... If I am, say it's a coma dream." I admitted, just staring at him. Izuru probably heard me because he looked to the side, one hand over his mouth and giggling quietly. "Heh, did you really think you killed me? Well, okay you probably did but...erm...." He went up to me and Hinata-kun and looked over Hinata-kun's body.

"You aren't hurt are you? No scratches or errors or nothing right?" He asked. He shook his head. "All systems are fine. There's no problems." He was sitting on the ground absentmindedly. I felt uneasy and confused. "Uhhh, Hinata-kun, do you know what's happening?" "No."

Wow. Blunt. Well he is a robot...

"Umm, I think I should explain this part." Ryota suddenly stepped in, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I...actually brought a dismantler here..." He muttered under his breath. My eyes widened. "You did WHAT?!" "I'm sorry I'm sorry! It was for emergencies and a last resort I swear!!!" He yelled, flustered. I huffed unhappily, but let him continue. "I found Izuru and got the dismantler working on him, so now the collar's off." He explained.

"Impressive." Hinata-kun commented behind me. I nodded in agreement. Izuru stared up at the crumbled building and sighed. "Are you sure she's dead?" He asked. Hinata-kun nodded. "Yes. All signs of life are absent." He informed. The way he talked to Izuru...

_He was very monotone and lacked any form of interest or emotion to him. It's...different to the way he treats me..._

I sighed and looked at Izuru. "What now?" I asked. He bit down on his lower lips hard, but soon let go and responded. "I don't know... With Junko's empire basically destroyed, I...don't really have anywhere to go." He said. "Well... While you're around... Wanna stay at our village? I mean, it's not that great and we're kinda still rebuilding it, but maybe you can help us out and just stay there for a while? Until you've decided what to do?" I suggested. He debated it for a moment and agreed. "Yay!"

*Later*

I wanted to talk to Hinata-kun again. I...really didn't think the confession through actually, I just reacted in the moment. But now that things have calmed down, I wanted to know his answer. Was it even possible for a robot to love a human? Did I really still like him? Or was it just infatuation just because I thought he was a person? I didn't know anymore. But my chest still tingled so....

I don't know....

Izuru was staying in dad's bigger house. But I was keeping a sharp eye on him just in case. But I was in my own house, and Hinata-kun hasn't come out of the attic room ever since we got back. "Maybe he needs to charge... Or think... Gah! How do robots work?!" I scratched my head in frustration and knocked the panel open, popping my head to see him. "Hinata-kun?" I said, going inside.

He was sleeping on his bed. So he's charging? "Nagito?" I heard someone outside and looked over the window outside. It was Izuru. "...How the fuck does he know I live here?!" I thought, shocked and hurrying down to him. "I-Izuru? What are you doing here?!" "Your dad told me where you live and uhh... He kinda booted me out." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

........

"Excuse me for a moment." I went off to grab a frying pan and hand it to him. "Whack him with this. And tell him I told you to do it. Then say: 'I'm staying here until I know what to do and if you say anything else, I'll smack you with a wet fish next.'" I said sharply. He just stared at me before bursting out, laughing. "Whaahaha- What kind of- pffft- Do you always do this with your father??" He just stood there, hunched over and laughing. I blinked. "Well.... Uhh yes?" I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Things have been..weird, without my mom, so I did what I could and....this happened.

Eventually, we decided to settle for Izuru staying with me instead, since he didn't really want to smack my dad with a God damned frying pan. We chatted by the dining table for a while. I mostly asked him many questions, but he was patient and content with answering all of it without getting annoyed.

"Is Hinata-kun your first robot?" "No. Just the most efficient one."

"How does he charge or stuff?" "He sleeps. Like us. Or uses backup power, but he doesn't usually do that."

"How does he process information?" "Takes it in, finds a logical or the best route and answers or takes action accordingly."

We continued chatting for quite some time until I asked Izuru something.

"Have you...ever wanted Hinata-kun to feel emotions?" I asked. He stopped talking and the bubbly face he wore disappeared and he looked down. "....I have... I was just..." He started. "Just what?" I was interested now. "Thing is, once a robot discovers emotions, there's no way to predict how they'll process thinking anymore. I just wondered if it was the right time, with Junbo around." He muttered the last part, making me laugh. What a brilliant way to insult someone. "With emotions, he might do something reckless, so I didn't risk it." He explained.

"But... Now that Junko's gone, will you build something that can help him feel?" I asked, tilting my head. Izuru placed a hand under his chin, thinking. "...Hmmm.... Yeah... I could actually... But first, I need to ask you something." He said. "What is it?" "Why do you want Hajime to have emotions so badly? It's like you know how his attitude's gonna be like when he gets them." I just sat there. Oh boy. How am I going to explain this to him?

"It was Ryota... He um...made a prototype for him. Although, he did say there was a risk about him-" I stopped. "Um.... Well, ya know..." Oh shit. I didn't consider how Izuru might react to learning that Hinata-kun literally had the chance of dying and-

At the next moment, I heard a loud 'THUD!' coming from above and my eyes lit up "He's awake now!" I shouted, getting up from my seat and hurried up. Izuru blinked and sat there while I went to hit the button and send the panel down.

_But...._

_Something felt off..._

_Hinata-kun always stomped a few times to get my attention, so why only once this time?_

_I popped my head into his room._

_Only to see him lying on the floor, unmoving._

_I crept closer and shook him._

_"Hinata-kun...?"_

_All I got in response was a loud "BZZZT!" Sound and my eyes widened._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/414507161-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-27


	28. Chapter 28

****Nagito's p.o.v.

"....Hinata-kun...? Hey..." I shook him lightly. "Hey...!!!" I shook him harder this time, and when he didn't respond, I hurried down to Izuru. "Izuru! You need to see this!! Right now!!!" "What?!" I pulled him along to the attic to check on Hinata-kun.

*Later*

I was waiting anxiously outside the secret lab, wondering what was going on inside. It was scary. Finally, Izuru came out through the door and faced me. He had a serious expression on his face and gestured me over to follow him down.

"What happened?" I asked frantically. "....You... It's better if you come see yourself. It's...complicated to say the least. But it's bad." He said.

_"..What..happened...?"_

"I told you. You'll see." He simply said again. The feeling of uneasiness kept churning in my stomach and it made me so sick. When we arrived, Ryota was down there as well, and he was staring at some calculations on the screen. He seemed solemn and serious about something.

"What happened?"

"Well- You see uhh... The thing is-"

I crossed my arms at Ryota's stuttering and he stopped.

He took a deep breath.

"D-Do you remember...when I told you that I gave Hajime a chip? To help him feel emotions?"

I nodded, listening closely.

"I-I learned that after he left the village to Junko's side, he erm... He removed the chip. But, the data didn't leave his database. It just...didn't have the need to come out. So it just stayed hidden." He explained.

"But... When he...had to be stuck with the decision of choosing to shoot you or Junko, the system reactivated itself and he had a whole new list of options to consider."

I still didn't really get it and tilted my head at him.

Ryota started getting nervous and fiddled with his fingers. "I- Uh...." "Get to the point. Is he alright or not??" I asked.

His eyes darkened. "...I'm explaining that next. I swear." He said.

"A-Alright."

"...Don't you remember...what I told you from before? About the consequences of the chip?"

"........"

I tried to recall what Ryota told me and my eyes widened.

"...You're kidding..."

_"He'll...short circuit..."_

_"_ _S-Short_ _circuit...?"_

_"In other words... He'll die."_

"You're kidding right..? You're kidding right?!?!"

"....We're not. I... Hajime...is..."

"But he's a robot! Can't you fix him?!" I said, panicked.

"Nagito." Izuru snapped at me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I can't 'fix' Hajime. He's the most efficient robot I've created. Even with the blueprints, it'll be almost impossible to find all the parts for h-" "Isn't just his circuits broken?! Why would he need physical parts?!" I yelled loudly.

"Nagito."

"What?!"

_"Do you REALLY want to know how much damage that chip did to him?"_

I kept having the same dread and uneasy feeling in my chest, and it was churning up inside me again. "I-" "Do you want to see his state?" "........."

"...A-A-Alright..."

Ryota sighed and gestured me over. "...We warned you. I'm... I'm really, really sorry." He said and opened up the doorway, letting me inside. Hinata-kun was lying back down on a table and I crept closer to look at him.

The sight I saw was beyond what I had imagined.

His face was half melted off, revealing silver metal underneath. His chest was completely pried open and wires were scattered around, sparks occasionally springing out. His left leg was ripped apart from knee down, only a few dangling wires keeping it in place. His arms were twisted or panels broken off, more wires and burnt spots everywhere and his fingers were mangled in awkward angles. And his eyes...

They weren't closed. One was broken like glass and I could see the inside iris of green, and the other was fine, but I could see static black and white scribbles over the eye, like how when the antenna on your tv doesn't work and you end up being stuck staring at a black and white shattered screen.

"..A chip...did this..?" I couldn't believe this. NO WAY. Something so small could've done this much damage. "It's like a small match. Seems harmless, but put it in the wrong place, and you have chaos. The chip ended up messing with his control systems. It screwed over everything. Moving system, thinking system. It even fucked up his battery. Look."

_"I-I don't...want to look."_

I hugged myself tightly and left the area. Dozens of thoughts ran through my mind, but one stood out like a sore thumb and made me bite down on my lower lip.

_HInata-kun is dead. And there's no way to fix him._

I trodded my way back to the house and stared at the entrance.

_"......."  
_

_What should I do now...._

Makoto's p.o.v.

It's been three days now. Nagito's stopped coming out of his house and his father tried checking on him, only to be thrown out. Izuru's still staying in there as well, but he refuses to say anything. All he mentioned was that Nagito locked himself in the attic.

We tried to go up there to talk to him, but he just refused us. He'd just pull at the entrance way to the attic and stop it from opening and letting us enter. "I'm worried for his health." Kyoko said while we were eating together. "All of us are. But there's nothing we can do about it. I'm just hoping he doesn't starve himself to death." Fuyuhiko said.

I looked down and got up from the table with my ramen noodles in my bowl. "I'll...be back." I said and walked off. I went to Nagito's house and stood outside, glancing at the window in the attic and frowned. I placed down the bowl of ramen on the ground, picking up a small rock and chucking it at the window.

"Nagito!!! Heeey!!! NAGITO!!!!" I yelled loudly, continuing to chuck stones at the window. "Come out!!"

_No response._

I sighed and stopped.

"...I left some food for you out here. It's mine by the way, so don't waste it please. You better not starve yourself to death!" I yelled and left. I didn't want to go back to the others yet and wandered around aimlessly.

Until I stumbled across a small metal pillar at the very edge of our village. "Eh? What's this?" I thought and wandered over. I looked it over, observing and scanning its structure. "..It looks really weird..." I thought, confused.

I began climbing the tall pillar to see if anything was above the pillar. "What the-" There was a huge hole down the middle of the pillar and something at the bottom. I tried to reach for it and reached and reached. "Arghh!!! Come oooon!!" I stretched a little further and grabbed whatever was at the bottom.

_"...T-This is...!!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/420350671-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-28


	29. Chapter 29

Nagito's p.o.v.

I've been staying up in the attic for quite some time now. I forgot how long it's been. Probably about three days.... All I was doing was flicking the light switch in the room. Over and over and over again.

_On._

_Off._

_On._

_Off._

_On._

_Someone opened the attic hatch._

_Off._

_On._

_It was Izuru._

_Off._

_On._

_He was looking at me sadly, I didn't bother looking back._

_Off._

_On...._

_He was hugging me._

_Off._

_On._

_Off._

_On._

_Kyoko was here too. She was holding a tissue box._

_Off._

_On._

_I closed my eyes. I'm so tired._

_Off._

****Izuru's p.o.v.

He passed out. Probably from lack of food and water and maybe sleep. He did look pretty tired... "Is he alright?" Kyoko asked. I nodded. "He'll be fine. But let's get him to a proper bed and feed him once he wakes up. God knows how long he's been up here." I picked him up. God he was heavier than he looked, but I'm not weak, so it was fine.

After tucking him in, I turned to Kyoko, who nodded. "Makoto, you said you had something to show us?" We both turned to the boy standing in the doorway, who was beaming. He whipped out a small chip and several blueprints. "What's all this...?"

_"I think I know how to repair Hajime!"_

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You THINK?" I said. "Well- It's better than not knowing anything right?! Look at Nagito! He's literally broken after he saw his state!" Makoto argued. I sighed, looking down. He had a point I couldn't argue with. "Alright. Let's try. But we still don't have the materials needed." I said.

Makoto snapped his fingers. "Ah! I have an idea! Over here over here!!" He yelled. Kyoko hastily shushed him, but he pulled us along to God knows where. When we arrived, it was a massive white pillar. "It's made from some kind of material I have no idea what it is! Do you know Izuru?" "...I know this...." I whispered quietly, feeling the material on the pillar.

"..I built this. Way back, when Hajime was newly made and still gathering information to learn. I didn't think.. It was THIS close to your village. I had forgotten all about it!" I explained. "Then... That means we can-!!" I nodded eagerly at their realization.

_"Let's do this!"_

Nagito's p.o.v.

I woke up groggily in a...bed? I grew confused and looked around. I was still in my house, so at least I know I wasn't kidnapped or anything like that. "What happened?" I thought getting up to look around.

"Nagito! You're awake!" I looked up to see Makoto, holding a small bowl of porridge and a glass of water. "Oh... Hi Makoto." I cringed at my own voice, it was so hoarse and cracky from not drinking water for so long, my throat was dry. He rushed over and set the things by the side table and sat by me, handing me the water. "Just take things easy alright? Drink it." He said.

I didn't exactly have a choice, so I accepted the water and gulped it down, my throat eternally thanking me. I sighed once I finished it up, looking away. "...You still miss him huh?" Makoto said, staring at me. I looked down and nodded. "...I'm too tired to cry anymore." I admitted. I was dehydrated, hungry, and just so tired....

Makoto went up to me with the porridge bowl and spoon. "Come on. I'm willing to baby feed you at this point if you can't feed yourself. Eat up." He said haughtily. I smiled slightly at his manner and took the bowl, almost dropping it, but he helped me. "You okay?" "Yeah... I'm fine."

Makoto didn't leave, he just watched me. Ate, then fell asleep again. When I woke up again, he was still wide awake, just looking at me. I didn't really find it creepy. I knew he was just watching over me. Makoto stayed over in my house to watch over me for the next few days. I'm glad he did, who knows what would've happened to me if I had stayed in that room. But it wasn't as though I wasn't any better than I was. I was still broken from Hinata-kun.

*Days later*

I started walking around a bit now, even though Makoto told me to take it easy, I still insisted to go buy food for him. I was aimlessly opening and shutting my small fan when I heard Makoto humming some tune I didn't quite know and I listened along. "Makoto, what song are you singing?" I asked. "Huh? What song?" He turned to me, confused.

"Just now." "Oh... Actually, I heard someone else singing it and it kinda just got stuck in my head!" He joked, bopping his head softly. "Who?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity. His smile faded. "Ah.. Well.... You'll see." He said, shrugging off the topic. I was suspicious, but Makoto wouldn't say anything else, so I ended up having to drop the topic.

Makoto's p.o.v.

I internally sighed in relief as Nagito stopped asking about the song I was humming. "That was way too close!" I thought to myself, mentally bashing myself for almost exposing the secret. "I'm going out, stay safe Nagito!" I called. He nodded, waving me goodbye as I left the house.

I made sure I wasn't followed and made my way to the secret lab. "Hey guys!" I called, greeting them. "Ah! Makoto, good to see you." Izuru said, popping his head from some boxes. "How's it going along?" "It's going pretty well. I think it'll be ready by maybe next week or so? It's progress is REALLY speedy!" He admitted. "Awesome!!"

???'s p.o.v.

I stared at the wall in front of me. This..guy told me to wait here and read these books. It's filled with knowledge, and since I wasn't allowed to leave or go anywhere, I've just been here... Reading.

It's pretty boring if I had to be honest...

Suddenly, the door opened up to reveal the guy again. "Hey mister." I said, waving at him. "Hello. Have you finished all the questions I gave you?" "Mmhmm!!" I showed him all the finished pieces of paper.

"Uhh... Mister, I know this might sound really weird but...." The guy looked over at me curiously.

_"Is there...something I'm missing..? Is there someone...waiting for me? I feel like, I'm forgetting someone."_

He looked at me weirdly before turning around to leave.

_"The password to the door is 11037. Do what you will with this information. I will be taking my leave now. Farewell."_

He shut the door and I stared at the now closed door, deep in thought.

*Next day*

I escaped.

But I did leave an apology letter to the guy. Hopefully he'll forgive me.

_I know there's something I'm missing. I know I'm kinda just running in blindly, but if I even stand a chance of finding whoever or whatever I'm missing, then I'm taking it, and that moment is now._

I sighed and slumped against some grass up on a hill. "Running blindly... That really doesn't sound like me..." I thought to myself.

_I closed my eyes and hummed a_ _quiet_ _tune I made up._

_"I wonder who I'm looking for..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/423438756-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-29


	30. Chapter 30 (END)

Nagito's p.o.v.

I was feeling a little better now. Sleeping properly, eating and drinking well, but I was still upset. "Nagito... Smile a bit more?" Makoto asked, sitting across me in the living room. "...Eh?" I looked up at him. "Smile a bit more? Why?" I tilted my head curiously at that and sipped down my tea. "You don't smile anymore... Haven't you noticed?" I shook my head. "Mmm..." Makoto looked down and snapped his fingers. "Aha! I got it! I'll make you laugh!" I blinked. "Make me...laugh...? I don't need to laugh right now..."

Makoto crept up to me and suddenly stretched his cheeks out. "Bleeeeeh...." I stared at him. "...Um.... Makoto, I appreciate your efforts, but I don't need to smile..." "THAT'S the problem!! You always smile! With or without reason! And now you're just..." He seemed genuinely upset now and I placed down my cup, getting up. "I'm going out." I said and walked out the house to give him space and calm down.

I wandered aimlessly around my village, not really having anywhere in particular I wanted to head to. "..I don't smile much huh... Come to think of it... I..don't think... I have... I don't know." I thought to myself. I was glad I was at least paying attention to where I was going, otherwise I would've slapped bang straight into a building.... Wait. Fuyuhiko's house?

I stared at the structure. Yep. This was his house alright. "......" I decided to go inside. "Who's th- Oh, Nagito? You alright? Where's Makoto? What're you doing here?" Fuyuhiko bumbled me with questions. Guess he was just surprised to see me. "I'm okay. Actually, there's something I want to ask you." I asked. His eyes widened in surprise. "Uhh sure. Have a seat." He gestured me over.

*Later*

"So... Makoto thinks you don't smile enough?" He asked. I nodded. "I think I'm fine honestly. What do you think?" I asked. "Actually... I think I agree with Makoto on this one. You're always smiling and happy most of the time. But now you're just..." He tried to emphasize his point by tracing his finger over his lips in a straight line. I sighed.

"Do you know why I'm not... You know... Smiling? At least in your opinions." I asked, looking down and thinking to myself. "....Hajime." "What?" My head shot up at the mention of his name. "Hajime. He's the reason you've stopped smiling. Events can change people, and I think after you saw what became of him, you mentally shut down. You think you're better now, but I can see it. And so can others. You've changed. And not for the better." Man, Fuyuhiko can be really wise sometimes...

A lot of wise guys are always short. Maybe that explains his height.

 ****"...Thanks Fuyuhiko... But, that doesn't really help now does it?" I asked. He sighed and shook his head. "Sorry man, there are limits to what we can do now. Anyways, you best be going. Peko's gonna be back from the market soo..." I rolled my eyes and got up. "Alright. I'll go now. Thanks for everything. Or something." I mumbled and left the house.

I still had unanswered questions, and I didn't exactly feel as though Hinata-kun is the reason I'm upset. "..I don't know anymore." I looked up to see a huge tree and smiled, sitting down and leaning against it to think. I hummed slightly and looked down, thinking. "Smiling..." I thought. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to smile or be 'happy'. I didn't understand.

Right at that moment, I heard someone pass by from their footsteps and looked over. It was someone with a dark hoodie over their face. 

_But they were humming a familiar tune, and I gazed down at their arms and legs._

_There were tiny little silver bolts screwed onto the peach skin._

_"...No way."_

I got up and rushed to them, grabbing their arm. It was cold. 

"U-Um..." I hadn't even realized that the person was staring at me and let go of their hand. "I'm sorry." I apologized. "It's alright!" 

_I froze._

_Their voice was lighter and clearer than Hinata-kun's._

_"...C-Can you take off your hoodie...?"_

_"Hm? Of course! There's no harm in that!"_

They pulled the black hoodie off and I stared at their face. It was a boy.

He looked...almost identical to Hinata-kun, but there were differences. Minor details I knew were wrong.

His hair was darker than Hinata-kun's, and his skin was paler. His eyes were still olive green, but they were shining and seemed new. And his clothes were different. He was wearing a dark green and lime green checkered shirt and black pants, and he had no shoes.

He tilted his head at me. "...May I ask what you want? You are staring at me weirdly." He said flatly. "...O-Oh... Sorry... I thought..you were someone else." I admitted, looking down. "I don't know if he's really Hinata-kun... What if I get the wrong guy?" That was the fear implanted into my mind right now. I don't want to get my hopes up yet.

"Someone...else?" He tilted his head at me curiously. "Who?" "N-Nobody in particular." "But I want to know. Do I look like them?" Right on the money. "A little..." "Hey uhm... Can I ask you something?" I looked up at him and found he was smiling.

_"What do you think I am?"_

I gulped, feeling nervous. "Well- I...." He stared at me intensely before stepping away. "That's strange." "Huh?" "I've asked this question to many people, and they responded about the same thing. 'Why you're a person!' Or 'You okay?' Or something like that. You're the first person to not respond." He said. "He even processes information like Hinata-kun." I thought, shocked.

"You're special. Do you know what I am? Who I am? What life I've lived?" His questions buzzed in my mind and I couldn't think properly. "What's your name?" I asked. He seemed to understand and backed off, thinking. "Actually, I don't know what my name is. I call myself 'Michino' for now." He answered. "Michino. Means unknown." I said. "Mmhmm! What's your name?"

_"My....name... It's Nagito. Nagito Komaeda."_

As soon as my name was uttered, Michino stopped smiling and looked down, deep in thought. "...Komaeda... Eh? That's strange..." He scratched his head but turned back to smile at me. It irritated me slightly. "Hey, where do you live? Who are your parents? Who are your friends?" I blinked. "E-Eh?! Hey that's personal!!" I yelled, slightly overwhelmed by this sudden development.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I just.. Erm..." He looked down, trying to convey words to me.

_"You seem...familiar... I can't quite pinpoint it. So I want to know you better!"_

I sighed and rubbed my forehead, thinking. "...Alright. You have the same feeling as me, so we'll get to know each other." We shook hands as a deal and I decided to bring him to my house first. "I'll show you my house first." "Alright!" He was very cheery, and smiled very often.

I smiled and gestured him to follow me.

_......._

_Wait._

_I smiled...?_

My eyes widened and I turned to Michino, who was staring at me innocently. "Hey, are we there yet?" He asked, taking my hand and running. "H-Hey-!!" He ignored me and kept pulling me along and running. Eventually, we reached my house and he stopped. "Here we are! This is your house right?"

"Well... Yeah it is! And-" I halted. "...How did you know I live here?" I asked, staring at him in surprise. He blinked and seemed surprised as well. "I- Ah... I don't know actually." "...You're really like him..." "Huh?" "Nothing...."

Right at that moment, I heard voices from within the house and frowned, shushing Michino. I drew near to the door and listened closely.

_"Why did you just let him go like that?! Are you insane?!"_

_"Relax. I only sent him away to gather more information for himself. I placed a tracker on him so it'll be f-"_

I didn't bother listening to the rest of the conversation and swung the door open, revealing Izuru and Makoto. "WHAT were you two discussing?!?!" I yelled loudly. They both froze and stared at me in the doorway. "Hey, I know these two!" Michino suddenly perked up from behind me. I yanked him by the arm and pointed at him. "IZURU! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!??!?!"

"Y-You ran into him?! I-I didn't expect-" He was shocked and nervous. I wanted an explanation and my eyes were enough to make that clear. Makoto sighed. "We have to tell him, but shut him down first. My God..." He said, facepalming. Izuru nodded and walked up to Michino, who was grinning at him.

"Sorry, but you need to shut down for a while. If all goes well, you'll wake up and feel a bit weird. But trust me, it's for the better." He explained. Michino tilted his head, but smiled and nodded. "Okay!" Immediately after that, the color in his eyes shut off and he stood there, head hung low and motionless.

_"...So he was a robot..."_

Izuru nodded. "...And.. He's actually Hajime. A newer model at least. We um... We recreated the entire model completely and installed a more efficient chip into him, which explains his completely new personality." He explained. "We wanted to expand his knowledge a bit before installing Hajime's original chip or 'personality'." I nodded and listened attentively to Izuru's explanations.

"We're sorry we hid it from you. We just really wanted to surprise you and make you happy... I'm really sorry please don't hate uuuus!!" Makoto almost wanted to cry and hugged me tightly. "I-It's fine... It's fine." I sighed. 

"Listen, I forgive you and all, but please, can you finish this up?" I asked, crossing my arms. They nodded. "Yeah. Let's go down into the lab and finish this up." Izuru motioned us to follow him and he grabbed Michino... Hinata-kun? Ugh, whatever.

*Later*

I didn't understand why I was so impatient and angry and tensed up and paced back and forth outside the lab. "Hey, calm down Nagito, it's okay alright?" Makoto said, worried over me. "I'm fine." I snapped at him, grumpy.

Suddenly, the door opened up to reveal Michino, but something was different. His eyes were darker and more olive. I recognized that color. The second he stepped out, he looked right at me and stared at me for a long time before smiling softly and waving.

_"Hello Komaeda. Sorry I've been gone for so long. Have you been alright? Didn't hurt yourself did you? You're all good?"_

I started laughing, tears slowly trickling down my face and I stepped closer to him and hugged him tightly, burying my face into his chest. "Where have you been...." I was smiling and crying at the same time and Izuru and Makoto smiled, leaving us alone quickly.

"So... Should I call you Michino or Hinata-kun now?" I joked, making him roll his eyes. "Just call me whatever you want. I'm asking what I should call you now." He said back. "Call me whatever you want." He smiled and gestured me outside.

We sat on a hill together. It was peaceful, and I could smile peacefully without thinking. "So it really was Hinata-kun then..." I thought, glancing at him. He was humming something quietly and I listened to him. "What song is that?" I asked. "I made it up." "Can you sing it for me?" 

Hinata-kun laughed and patted my head, slowly going over to rub my shoulder and made me lean against his shoulder. "You really want me to sing huh? You're being orderly." He said. My eyes widened and I wanted to pull away when he laughed. "It was a joke, it's okay!" 

_He seems so human. I like this Hinata-kun, and he doesn't seem to mind his state now._

 

_"...I love you Hinata-kun."_

_"I know."_

_"Do you love me back?"_

_He stopped singing and turned to face me._

_He kissed me softly on the lips._

_They were cold, but I adored it._

_"Does that satisfy you? Does it answer your question?"_

_I loved him. And he loves me. And that was enough._

_"Mmhmm. Thank you."_

_He went on to continue singing._

_"I missed you so much you know..."_

_"I know, and I'm sorry."_

_"Do you know how much I love you?"_

_"Is that supposed to be a question?"_

_I laughed and snuggled closer to him._

_"What should we do now?"_

_"...Whatever feels right. I mean, I'm alive right now and-"_

_"And that's enough for me. I can't tell you how much I've missed you."_

_"Really huh... Then I should tell you this. I'm going to be smiling a bunch, like Michino, and correcting you, and stopping you from getting into stupid trouble like the Hinata-kun you know."_

_I smiled and hugged him._

_"I wouldn't have it any other way..."_

*A few months later*

Life went back to normal after all that Junko shenanigans. Well, as normal as one could get living with a robot. "Hajime-kun! Can you help me?" I asked, trying to get down from the roof after I finished repairing it. We offered to help around rebuilding some of the villager's houses. Hajime-kun looked up at me and rolled his eyes. "Jump and I'll catch you." "Are you insane?" "Or would you rather stay up there? Don't underestimate a robot's strength." He said casually.

I sighed and let go, falling right over to him. He caught me, like he said he would. 

Many things changed over these past few months.

Izuru went away to travel around the world and learn more new things. He comes back to visit sometimes or just calls us via some complicated system only Ryota had access to and let us use. Speaking of Ryota, he sorta became his successor or something like that, and people are starting to accept robots wandering around the place, with his new helper robots running all around looking for people to help out. I still wonder to this day why the models are of bunny rabbits... And the fact the village chief's son is in a relationship with one too. My father's still cautious about Hajime-kun, the result? Him getting hit by a fish. Like I promised. 

Fuyuhiko finally got the guts to ask Peko on a date, and the two are really good together. Of course, he got SOME help from us.

_"I can't tell her dude!"_

_"You know what, you won't tell her? I'll tell her." Hajime-kun said, standing up._

_"Peko! Fuyuhiko's head over heels for you!!!"_

_He grabbed my hand and booked the second she turned her head over and said: "What?"_

Aaaand they kinda hit it off then. He's still a bit mad at us for doing that but he got what he wanted so good for him! Makoto also seems to be with Kyoko now, but he isn't saying anything YET.

_We stared at them talking together._

_"Bet a nickel they're together." Hajime-kun said, casually sipping down some tea._

_"What?! Don't jump to conclusions like that!" I scolded, smacking his arm lightly._

_"So we betting or not?"_

_"Jeez...."_

But for now, everything's alright. I'm with Hajime-kun now, and we go about together. My problem is his problem too. He loves me, and I love him too. 

_And that's enough for me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/424502394-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-30-end

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! A new Komahina story. This time, Hajime's a God damned robot! I'm not too sure how this should work so whatever. Anyways! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/325430532-the-boy-with-a-metal-heart-chapter-1


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